Fall
by Eragon05
Summary: It all begin with two murder cases, but quickly escalated into an all out gang war between the two most powerful crime families in Zootopia. Nick and Judy have only been partners on the force for six months and yet they must now team up with friends and enemies both new and old if they are to save their city. Rated T for violence and mild swearing. Little bit of Nick X Judy as well
1. Chapter 1: Transfers

**A/N: Hello fellow Zootopia fans! I am Eragon05 and I've been working on this story of mine for a while now. I have combined the prologue with the first chapter so DO NOT expect future chapters to be this long. I will also try to keep these author's notes short and sweet from now on. Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy! And without further ado, I give you _Fall_!**

 **Zootopia is owned by Disney, I only own my OCs.**

 **-Eragon**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

 _ **BIG MANORS, TUNTRATOWN; 11:57 PM, THURSDAY, APRIL 17**_ _ **th**_

"I'm going to ask you one more time", stated the small artic shrew known as Mr. Big from his black leather office chair, "What were you doing in my warehouse?"

He demanded this to a larger wolverine fidgeting in front of his desk. This was no normal wolverine, though. This was Victor Clawson, an albino wolverine standing at about 42 inches tall, which was very tall for his species, and was built like a tank. This unnatural strength and agility he possessed helped make him the best officer in the ZPD's 3rd Precinct based in Tundratown. He did the jobs no one else wanted to do or that no one else COULD do, which meant a lot of undercover work and a lot of dealing with gangs, or both at once. On the outside, Victor seemed extraordinarily nervous and scared for his life, but inside he was completely calm. This wasn't the worst situation he had been in and he was still alive to tell the tale of those. He'd been scouting out a warehouse that was storing illegal drugs and weaponry and decided he should get a closer look. Little had he known the warehouse belonged to Mr. Big and his goons would grab him and bring him here.

"I told you, sir, I was heading home from a job interview near your warehouse and got lost", Victor lied easily, faking some nervousness into his voice, "I had never been to that area of Tuntratown before. Then your men attacked me and brought me here. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just want to go home, sir.

Mr. Big didn't look happy with that statement, "Now, that's what you keep telling me, but then how is it that you managed to take down two of my best guards who are three times your size with absolutely no trouble at all. That seems a little impressive of a measly citizen heading home."

Victor was silent at that, still trying to figure out a way to respond. The shrew then smirked; knowing something else was going on with the animal in front of him, "Now, you said your name was Oscar, right?" Victor nodded and the crime lord continued, "Oscar, I'm going to give you a choice here. You can tell me the truth, or you can lie to me again and die. It's up to you."

Victor could only sigh at that choice. If he told the shrew the truth, he would be killed for being a cop, but if he lied again, Big would ice him anyways. This forced him into only one option. One that would protect the ZPD and that he would have to hope would not get him iced. "Sir, I'm not lying to you. I've taken some self-defense classes and-"

"Okay, I've heard enough", Mr. Big interrupted, glowering at the wolverine, "Boys, ice'im!"

The two polar bears next to Victor quickly took action, one grabbing Victor by his rope handcuffs and lifting him up while the other moved away the rug he was standing on and revealed the swirling vortex of ice and arctic water below.

"It's a shame, Oscar, I really do have a soft spot for your types", the shrew said almost sadly, "But, you've made your choice and your time is…"

The main door into the crime lord's office slammed open, another polar bear panting as he rushed into the room. Mr. Big could not have looked more frustrated with his henchmammal, "What is it, Kevin?! Can't you see I'm busy right now?!"

The new polar bear, known as Kevin, barely looked fazed by his employer's anger, "Boss, Raymond and Barry are dead!"

"What?!", the arctic shrew gasped, "How did this happen, Kevin?"

"They had both had a few too many drinks at The Ice Flow and called me to ask if I could pick them up. So I pulled up next to the bar and saw both of them lying in the alley to the side. Thinking they had just passed out, I got out to go get them. That's when I saw the pools of blood around them and multiple bullet holes in each of their chests. After I saw them I called the police and came straight here."

Mr. Big cursed under his breath and spoke to the entire room, "Koslov, you and Kevin stay here to discuss this new problem with me. The rest of you are dismissed. Oscar, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here, but if you EVER cross me again, you will wish that you had died now."

Victor gulped to keep up his act before responding, "Understood, sir. You will never have to deal with me again."

"I sure hope not for your sake. Now get this sack of fur out of my sight."

The two bears holding Victor nodded and wordlessly put a sack over his head and dragged him out of the Big residence. They made sure to drive him a good distance away before throwing him out in the snow. Victor picked himself up and took off the blindfold as a limo's tires squealed and drove off into the night. When they were out of eyesight, Victor dusted himself off, a huge grin spreading across his face. They bought his act, he had made it out alive, and now he had a new case to investigate along with some info on Mr. Big and his subordinates. This was a great day in Victor's mind. He composed himself and started walking back to the Precinct Three Headquarters. He had a lot of paperwork to do.

* * *

Mr. Big's office had been returned to its comfy and elegant look. Big was still in his chair on his desk while Koslov and Kevin now had black lounge chairs and were seated in front of Mr. Big. But neither was lounging or relaxed; far from it actually. Kevin looked between angry and depressed. Koslov sat hunched over massaging his temples from the stress headache he was getting from the recent events. Kevin had more info to share about Raymond and Barry's deaths that was extremely sensitive, and the crime boss knew this. This was info for Big and Koslov only.

Kevin looked up at his boss and began, "Boss, I found two other pretty major things when I was checking the scene." The shrew leaned forward, urging him to continue. Kevin pulled out a bloody bullet and a tuft of reddish-brown fur from his pants pocket and continued, "The fur noticeably looks and smell of jackal; and the bullet has a poison laced in it. I know this because the bullets alone aren't strong enough to take down polar bears, not even multiple shots. I could also see the traces of the poison under the fur of Raymond's chest. From what I know, it looks like Cobra venom which would be why our friends are now dead. Boss, both these point to a specific assassin out in Sahara Square who works for only Lesley Richards."

Koslov scoffed at what Kevin was implying, "You think the gang out of Sahara did this? They wouldn't dare try to cross us. They don't stand a chance against us financially or physically. Richards would be an idiot to try that.

"This is very strange, indeed. Lesley has been growing more and more ambitious lately, but this would be extremely rash of him. The pieces don't quite fit together.", Mr. Big spoke up suddenly, "Thank you for gathering all of this, Kevin. Now both of you, go home please. I have some work to finish up and some thinking to do."

"Boss, what are we going to do?", Kevin asked as he stood up to leave.

"WE are not going to do anything drastic at this point in time. We will keep our eyes open for anything else suspicious from Lesley and keep him in check if he ever even thinks of harming our people", the shrew replied, then gave a long sigh, "But I do think I can do something. I may know one mammal who can solve this. Tomorrow I have some phone calls to make. One being my goddaughter."

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1: THE TRANSFERS**

 _ **ROOM 412, LEO'S APARTMENT COMPLEX, SAVANNA CENTRAL; 5:30 AM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18**_ _ **th**_

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_ An orange-furred paw sprung out from underneath a blanket and smacked the top of an old alarm clock, silencing it. Nick Wilde sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He then lazily slunk out from under his blanket and made his way over to the bathroom, glancing at his digital alarm clock as he closed the door.

"5:30. This is way too early for anyone to get ready for work… or even be awake for that matter." Nick thought to himself, "Why am I putting myself through this?"

Then an image of Judy popped into his head. He'd do anything for that crazy bunny; even completely destroy his sleep schedule for months on end. The fox sighed. Judy Hopps, the star ZPD officer, was now his best friend. He couldn't believe how much she'd completely turned his world upside down. Hence why he was rushing through his shower and putting on his police uniform, freshly washed and ironed the night before in order to make it look almost new. As Nick straightened his tie and pinned on his badge, shining dimly in the light of his small apartment, he heard a series of knocks coming from his front door.

The fox quickly rushed over and opened the door, greeting the rabbit officer with his signature lazy grin and calm demeanor, "I swear officer, whatever they told you, I didn't do it." Judy smiled and played along with his banter, "Are you sure because I was told there was a shifty, low-life fox breaking into this apartment?"

"Ouch, that truly hurts me, Carrots", Nick replied, putting a hand over his heart and looking away dramatically.

"You'll live. Now are you ready to leave yet? It's already 6:15." Judy Hopps was the epitome of a ZPD officer. Her uniform was stainless and perfectly ironed, making Nick's look like he hadn't even washed it. Every strand of her silver fur was combed down and in place. She had every tool an officer would need strapped to her belt, which was now without her fox repellent. She had thrown it out in order to build trust between herself and Nick and so far it had worked. She was also wide awake compared to her orange-furred friend, having been up since 4:30 to go for a run before getting ready for work.

"And we don't need to be at the bullpen till 7:30."

Judy grinned at this, "Well, if you want breakfast and your morning coffee, we should probably leave soon."

"I do love my coffee", Nick said more to himself than Judy, "Alright, you win, let me just grab my phone and wallet."

Nick hurried back into his apartment, grabbed his things, and locked the door before heading to the elevator of the building with Judy. Nick's apartment was a little smaller than average, but still huge compared to the bunny's one-room home. The fox had a full-sized bedroom, a dining/living room, a small kitchen area just big enough for cooking meals, and most importantly, his own bathroom. His apartment was located on the forth and top floor of a pro-species equality complex owned by a friendly old lion who had known Nick for the past few years. Both said their goodbyes to the lion as they walked out the double doors and into the parking lot.

The duo took the same route every morning. Judy would ride the downtown bus to a stop pretty close to Nick's place. Then, the two would walk the mile and a half to Precinct 1 ZPD Headquarters, stopping at J&J's along the way. This allowed both to get some delicious breakfast and coffee at a reasonable price. The café was owed by Jack and Janet, a giraffe couple, and catered foods and beverages to prey and predators alike, with a slightly smaller selection for the preds. J&J's also had a small town feel to it that all animals loved, especially the two officers entering the building, a bell ringing as they opened the door. Jack beamed the fox and bunny a huge smile as they strolled up to the counter to order, "Well if it ain't my two favorite ZPD officers! What can I get for ya today?"

Nick immediately ordered for the both of them before Judy could even open her mouth, "I'll have a medium white chocolate cappuccino with a blueberry muffin and my partner'll have a small carrot smoothie with a slice of… chocolate chip zucchini bread?" The fox glanced down at Judy for confirmation that he had the order right, to which she rolled her eyes and nodded eagerly. Nick smiled at the fact he had gotten it right and looked back up to Jack, "That'll be all."

"Okay, that's 12 dollars and 84 cents."

The pair each fished out seven dollars and put the money on the counter, both telling Jack to keep the change. They each then chuckled as they remembered the first time they met each other and made their way over to a nearby booth, knowing their orders would be ready relatively quickly since there was only a pawful of other mammals in the café. Both waited in comfortable silence; Nick on his phone checking his Furbook while Judy just looked around at the surrounding buildings. The bunny was admiring, not for the first time, the amazing neighborhood Nick had found a home in.

This area was probably the best in the Downtown District, if not all of Zootopia. There was an apartment complex, that was actually decently nice, which accommodated to preds and prey alike; multiple cafés, restaurants, and markets which had foods and drinks for both; and a non-discriminating school system all in a close 4 city blocks. To top it all off, the entire neighborhood was within two miles of both the very capital of Zootopia and Precinct 1. It was a place Nick had thought only existed in fantasies and Judy thought was what all of Zootopia could and should be like.

Janet interrupted her thoughts as she called both their names and brought both of them out of their own little worlds. Judy and Nick quickly got up and grabbed their orders, perkily thanking both Jack and Janet as they walked out the door and continued on to the precinct. Judy slowly unwrapped and took her first bite of her zucchini bread. She glanced over at Nick to see his muzzle covered in the remnants of blueberries and nothing but crumbs left of the fox's muffin. At that point both broke down laughing hard enough that they had tears in their eyes and their chests hurt; only stopping because they were hunched over out of breath. Still giggling, Judy finally gave Nick a couple napkins to wipe off the berries, which he gladly accepted and began to clean off his face. He had finally gotten the last of the blue out of his orange fur as they pushed through the main doors of the ZPDHQ. Immediately after they had stepped inside they were greeted by the city's friendliest cheetah.

"There's the most adorable team on the force! I thought you were gonna be less than 15 minutes early for once! How are you two on this beautiful morning?" Clawhauser gushed joyfully right before shoving a whole donut into his maw, spreading sprinkles onto his otherwise spotless and orderly desk. Chief Bogo had decided to add in, at Judy and Nick's request, a small stairway leading to the top of the desk so smaller animals could reach the plump feline's eye level. Judy normally ignored these stairs; instead she casually hopped onto the counter and sat with her feet hanging over the edge, while Nick just walked up a couple steps since his head was almost above the counter at his natural height anyways. Both decided to chat with Ben for a little while. They WERE there at 7:13; 17 minutes before briefing. Plus, the cheetah was a close friend to both of them and an easy mammal to talk to about anything. As Judy gossiped with the large cat about Gazelle and other random current events around Zootopia, Nick stayed on his phone, updating each of his social media accounts and giving a few small comments to the conversation once in a while. Then he heard the end of the latest gossip Clawhauser was going on and on about, which was a very interesting topic to him.

"…and so the chief decided to bring in two officers from Precinct 9 out in Happy Town!" Ben finished with his mouth full, reaching for yet another donut; his forth since the duo had arrived. "Wait, what?!" the red fox butted in, "Spots, would you repeat that last bit of news again?"

"Uh, yeah. The chief noticed we've been a little short-handed recently with patrol teams since Higgins and Jefferson retired and Precinct 9 had two veteran officers that they felt deserved a promotion. So Chief Bogo and Chief Collins decided to transfer those two officers here. Today will be their first day here at Precinct 1! Why you wonderin', Nick?"

"Oh, no big reason, just curious about having some new coworkers around." Nick replied quickly, seeming lost in thought. Judy looked at him in concern and curiosity, but before she could ask him anything, Clawhauser glanced at the clock and gasped, "It's 7:28 already! You two gotta get to the bullpen!"

Nick sighed quietly in relief as the bunny officer leaped off the desk, grabbing the fox's tie and dragging him with her as she sprinted for the briefing room. They opened the door to a packed and rowdy room. Delgato and Fangmeyer were paw-wrestling and had most of Precinct 1's officers gathered around cheering for one or the other. As the pair worked their way into the room and towards their seat, which everyone had thankfully left empty for them, Judy noticed Nick take a sip from his half-gone coffee, grimace, and throw it away. Afterwards, Nick saw Judy do the same thing with her mostly gone smoothie. Cold coffees and warm smoothies were pretty disgusting to both of them. They sat next to each other in the laughably large chair and looked back to see Fangmeyer manage to win the paw-wrestle. The tiger and her supporters cheered noisily and pumped their closed paws into the air. At that exact moment, the hippo in the front of the bullpen said a loud 'TEN HUT!' which only a few of the officers actually heard.

When Bogo walked in, he was greeted by a measly six officers saluting and at attention. This consisted of Judy, Nick, McHorn, Wolford, and the two transfers in the back. Bogo tried to calmly quiet everyone down, but since no one heard him over the cheering, he quickly resorted to a screamed 'QUIET DOWN!' that everyone heard. The celebrating officers quickly silenced themselves and rushed to their seats, sloppily standing at attention. Bodo glared around the room as he took a deep breath through his nose, calming himself from boiling rage to normal frustration.

"At ease", the cape buffalo began as everyone sat, excluding the mammals standing in the back and Hopps since she couldn't see if she was sitting, "We have a couple items on the docket today before assignments. First off, we have two new transfers from Precinct 9; meet officers Zander Oak and Caroline Howler, who have been on the force for the last eight years." Bogo motioned to two officers standing by the back wall of the room. Zander was standing stiff as a board on a chair due to his shorter height, being a springhare. Caroline was leaning casually against the wall and raised her paw in greeting. The whole room was surprised by this, as both their species were stereotyped as "not officer material", but they were veterans on the force. Bogo noticed the odd stares and quickly continued on with how the pair was going to help Precinct 1 with the recent short-handedness that was common knowledge for all the officers.

"And now item number two", Bogo began again, "Last night, between 11:30 PM and midnight, there was a double homicide next to the biggest bar in West Tundtratown, The Ice Flow. All we know at this time is that both victims were polar bears killed by multiple bullet wounds and no one saw or heard the perp who committed the crime. Therefore, everyone is to be on high alert while in and in close proximity to Tundratown. Chief Gallant told me he has competent officers and detectives working on the case and that Precinct 3 has everything handled. So we will continue on with our normal assignments. Webb and Durk, patrol in the Canal District. Delgato and Fangmeyer, East Savanna Central. Trunkaby and Pennington, West Savanna Central. Grizzoli and Mack, Meadowlands. McHorn and Yarrow, Sahara Square. Faren and Castel, Rainforest District. Wolford and Snarlof, East Tundratown. Whitefang and Royal, I know you're not normally on patrol duty, but you have some of the best eyes on the force so I want you looking out for anything suspicious in West Tundratown. Hopps and Wilde, my office when we're done here. The-"

"So we get to patrol your office today, Chief! That's exciting isn't it, Judy!", Nick interrupted loudly, nudging Judy with his elbow. Who then punched him in the ribs in response, earning herself a yelp from Nick as the whole room chuckled at both the fox's joke and consequential pain. Bogo slowly fixed Nick with a steely glare even McHorn normally flinched from, "Meet me in my office after this, Wilde. Now shut your trap!"

Nick grinned and put his paws behind his head and leaned back in his chair. After the chief received a 'yes sir' from him, he decided to finish the briefing, "The rest of you are either continuing previous assignments and cases, or you are on paperwork duty and emergency assistance because I'm missing reports from you, which I want by three o'clock this afternoon. Dismissed."

The officers all stood up silently and slowly filtered out of the room and made their way to the garage for patrol cars or their workstations for reports. Except Judy and Nick, who headed up to Bogo's office. Nick couldn't have cared less about what the chief wanted. As far as he was concerned, they'd done nothing even remotely wrong for weeks and were the most successful duo in Precinct 1. If anything, it was probably praise for the jewel thief they had caught a few days earlier. Judy, on the other paw, was extremely nervous, playing back the entire week trying to find anything they had slipped up on. Both fortunately and unfortunately, she found nothing and ended up clueless and going through an endless list of what-ifs. All this went through their heads in less than two minutes as they reached Chief Bogo's office and sat outside in another of the massive chairs to wait for him. After an excruciatingly long five minutes of awkward silence, Bogo gaited up the stairs towards them, with Oak and Howler a little ways behind him. He motioned for them to sit in the chair next to Nick and Judy and then opened his door and waved the bunny and fox in, closing the door behind them.

Bogo started speaking as all three made their ways to their seats, "As I'm sure both of you know, you've both quickly become two of the top officers in the entire ZPD. Only Royal and Whitefang, as well as a few detectives from other precincts, have closed more cases than you during the past six months; and none of them have closed anything as big as The Night Howler Incident." Judy gave off a beaming smile at the very rare praise the chief was giving them. Nick merely smirked, knowing his thoughts on the situation had been right all along.

"City Hall has noticed this as well, which is why you're both here", the cape buffalo continued, pulling out a stapled packet of papers and putting on his reading glasses, "These orders were given to me from them, specifically for the two of you, which I gladly agree with. The first is that you will be split up as partners for the-"

"WHAT?!" the two officers yelled in unison cutting off the chief's sentence. "Chief, why would you split us up?" Nick asked, still in shock at the new.

Judy, however, had gotten over the shock quickly and proceeded to attempt to scold her commanding officer, "Sir, you can't do that! It doesn't make any sense! You just said how well we're doing as a team! How does that conclude in us being split up?" The buffalo stood up and took his glasses off, furious and in utter disbelief of how kittish the officers in front of him were being, especially Hopps. "This is as much City Hall's decision as it is mine, Hopps. Either way, I was thinking of doing this anyways because I'm obliged to partner officers to most benefit the precinct and the city. If you would have let me finish before whining like kits, you'd know the reasoning for this choice! You two are lucky city Hall proposed this plan that I'm about to finish telling you or you'd both be suspended for disrespecting your superior and letting your emotions too strongly influence your decisions as officers. With that said, I will NOT tolerate you demanding things and telling me how to do my job! Clear?!"

Bogo emphasized this by slamming his hooves on his desk three times throughout the rant, each time harder than the last. The final slam earned him a satisfying flinch from the rabbit and the fox, as well as knocking his jar of pencils over and onto the floor. Both officers then nodded and looked down in shame of their actions. Sitting back down, Bogo finished summarizing what was in the packet, "As I was saying, the two of you will be split up as partners for the duration of two weeks. During those two weeks, you'll be reassigned to one of the transfers from Precinct 9 as your stand-in partners. You'll be helping them adjust and get used to how our precinct runs before they're put together as partners and out on their own again. That is your assignment for the next two weeks, can you handle that?"

The pair stood up and saluted in answer to their chief. Bogo gave them an approving nod and called for Oak and Howler to come in to the office. They cautiously filed in next to Judy and Nick, saluting as well. Oak stood only a couple inches taller than Judy, whereas Howler was easily a foot and a half taller than Nick. She was still short compared to the rest of Precinct 1, but she was tall when standing next to the other three officers in the room. Bogo had gathered the four smallest officers out of all the officers in Precincts 1, 2, 3, and 9; and it was, in a word, strange.

Finally, after a few seconds of silence, Bogo gave the four their assignments for the day, "Hopps, you'll be paired with Howler. You will be patrolling the Downtown area and the roads surrounding Little Rodentia. Wilde, you'll be paired with Oak and patrolling Happy Town today. I'm putting you in these areas to keep Howler and Oak in familiar territory. Tomorrow, you'll switch the areas you're patrolling and then we'll start moving you around the city the days after that. I trust that everything will run smoothly and there will be no problems?" Bogo raised an eyebrow at the group as he finished.

"Yes, sir!" all four officers said in unison. Bogo gave them an emotionless look that most officers said was equivalent to him smirking and dismissed them. The two pairs rushed out of the room and towards the garage silently, knowing that normally they'd have been patrolling for the last half an hour already. Judy hopped into the driver's seat of her patrol car and started it up as Howler climbed in the passenger seat. Judy raised her paw for a pawshake and put on her best "I love my job" smile, introducing herself to the coyote. Howler looked warily at the small paw next to her before shaking it and went back to looking out the windshield with a hardened and serious glare that meant business.

"Ok, then", Judy thought as she put the car into gear and drove out of the garage and onto their Downtown patrol route, "Maybe she'll warm up to me as the day goes on. Hopefully Nick is having a better time with Oak."

Judy's hopes couldn't have been more right. As Nick and Zander pulled out of the parking spot and onto the main road towards Happy Town with Nick in the driver's seat, the pair was already laughing hysterically at a joke the fox made about how bad bunnies were at driving, learning this from working with Hopps. As they reached Happy Town, the fox's mood suddenly shifted from his carefree self to a gloomy atmosphere around him. The springhare noticed this and faced the fox with a knowing look, "You've been around this place first hand, huh?"

Nick took a deep breath and ignored his new partner. Oak knew this meant "yes" and carried on, "I've worked in Precinct 9 for eight years, there's nothin' I haven't seen. It's easily the worst place in Zootopia, both looks-wise and crime-wise. Judging by how you're acting, you've lived here for an extended period of time and something pretty bad happened during that time. I know this won't be what you want to hear, but you gotta move past your past and do your job. That way, you can try to prevent whatever happened in your life to happen to someone else. That's our job, Wilde. You gettin' any of this?"

Nick was staring straight ahead at something down the road. Seeing this, Oak got a little more fired up, "Wilde, are you listening?! You just gotta do your job and ignore the past!"

"Oak, be quiet and-"

"I am not gonna be quiet while you are in la-la land thinking about the past that doesn't matter. We have to be on the lookout and you can't let your emotions get the better of you! Do you-"

The fox glanced down at Zander and pointed at something with his paw. Zander turned and saw what Wilde had been staring at. There was a small fistfight breaking out between a pig and a cheetah outside a gas station on their right side a block or so down the street. Nick quickly turned on the car's flashing red and blue lights and sped off, while Zander opened up the huge glove compartment and grabbed out their tranquilizer pistols, both dosed for medium sized animals and custom-sized for each officer. Skidding into the gas station's parking lot, the group that had just started to form around the two fighters scattered. Nick and Zander both jumped out with pistols in paw, Nick yelling to the group as he exited the car, "ZPD, everybody freeze and put your paws, hooves, or whatever else you might have on your heads!"

Obviously, this just made the bystanders run faster and further away, but they weren't who the pair wanted to stop. Both the pig and cheetah actually did freeze; mostly because they were the two that the pistols were pointed towards, but they froze. The pig was a full grown adult that easily stood taller than Nick by at least a foot and was pretty large, even by pig standards, at the belly. The cheetah, on the other paw, looked like he was still a teenager and was only taller than the fox by a few inches. Zander was the first to start asking questions, "Alright, now what's going on here?"

The pig quickly yelled a response while spitting everywhere, "Well, you see officer, I was just trying to put some gas in my truck over there; when this pelt decided he had the right to ask me if he could borrow some money for gas since he had forgotten his wallet. And when I said no because I don't borrow money to mangy preds, he growled at me, officer! I figured I needed to defend myself and make sure that everyone else in the station was safe from him before he went savage."

Nick looked over at the cheetah, noticing him fidgeting and bouncing from hind paw to hind paw while glancing at all of his surroundings, "What's your name, kit?"

"Willy, sir, and I ain't no kit."

"Understood. Is that how everything happened Willy?"

Willy stopped fidgeting and looked Nick dead in the eye, "Close sir, but he's lyin' about why he went after me. He wasn't tryin' to protect no one. He thought me growlin' out my frustration was a challenge an' den he grabbed me by me shirt collar an' threw me on the ground. I was the one protectin' myself."

The pig looked like he was going to explode in anger, "Why you dirty liar! You just tryin' to act like some scared kit who won't do nothin' wrong, but it ain't gonna work! I know what you did and you's gonna get it for doin' it!"

Just then the owner of the gas station, a fox who seemed to share Clawhauser's love for donuts, ran out to the group, breathing heavily, "Sorry officers… I was just about… to call the police… when saw you… yellin' at the group out there… The boy didn't… do nothin' wrong officers. That pig is always causin' trouble here, but today he went too far by attackin' that boy."

Zander slowly walked over to the pig and started to cuff his hooves when Willy spoke up, "I ain't gonna press no charges, officers. It's all settled now and der ain't no use makin' it a bigger deal dan it is. I just wanna get home so I can get some cash and fill up my car. Thanks for da help, officers!"

And just like that the cheetah ran off down the street, ducking into an alleyway when he was just about out of eyesight. Zander gave the pig a thorough warning of not letting anything like this happen again, thanked the fox for his help, and he and Nick jumped back in the patrol car to continue their route.

"Well that was odd", Nick stated as he pulled back onto the road, "No weapons pulled while we're in a bad area, the victim didn't want to charge the pig and just took off, and the pig didn't even protest when the owner started talking. He just kind of accepted the defeat."

"Well it's Happy Town, you never know what's going to happen when it comes to these animals."

"Yeah, I know it, but it still feels off." Nick said as he focused back in on the road. About 30 minutes later, the radio went berserk with Clawhauser's yells, "All Precinct One officers, we have a 10-57F in an alleyway off of Calypso Street in Happy Town! I repeat: we have a 10-57F in an alleyway off of Calypso Street in Happy Town! Callers have stated that it is a 10-32 situation! Nearby officers, please respond!"

Zander grabbed the radio and calmly replied to Clawhauser's yelling as Nick again turned on the lights, sirens, and punched the gas to get to Calypso Street, which was about 6 blocks down, "10-4, dispatch. This is patrol car Alpha-109; we are en route to the place of emergency. Over." He then turned to Nick with a half-smile and simply said, "Just another day in paradise, isn't it?"

* * *

Police Codes:

10-57 (F, PI, PD): Hit and Run (Fatal, Personal Injury, Property Damage)

10-32: Man with Gun

10-4: Acknowledged (OK)

* * *

 _ **ATLANTIS CASINO, CANAL DISTRICT; 2:05 AM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18**_ _ **th**_

The Atlantis Casino wasn't your everyday, average casino. This was a casino for the worst of the worst; where the most dangerous and evil criminals and scumbags came to hideout and blow off extra cash from their most recent "jobs." Coran Látiz was no exception to this. Coran, a water monitor who stood six and a half feet tall and a metal plate where his right eye should have been, was the only reptile in the casino hosting over a thousand animals. Yet no one messed with Coran, at least not if they wanted to leave the casino conscious, or alive for that matter. He happened to be the most lethal and respected assassin in Zootopia and all the towns and cities surrounding it.

The water monitor was playing a game of poker at one of the few reserved tables when some new thugs got the brilliant idea to show Coran how they felt about reptiles. Coran was on a winning streak, easily doubling his money in the time he had spent at the table, and was about ready to go home a satisfied animal when he abruptly was yanked out of his seat and thrown to the floor. The few mammals who were playing poker with him; two wolves, a fox, and three weasels; moved to help him, but Coran held out his claw to stop them.

Coran looked up at his aggressors; who were all new faces to him; a gray wolf, a water buffalo, a giraffe, a polar bear, and a rhino; who had been the one to throw him to the ground. The big gray brute grinned deviously down at the reptile, "Hey, bootskin, me and my friends are gonna use this table now," He paused for a moment to crack his knuckles, "Unless you got somethin' to say about it."

Coran slowly stood up. He had mostly black scales, but yellow scales were scattered all over his body and white scales all over his underbelly. He was wearing his favorite bright red suit with a white dress shirt underneath along with matching bright red dress pants; the latter of which now had a stain from his drink being knocked out of his hand while being thrown to the ground. He flicked out his forked tongue and analyzed the five mammals in front of them. All of them were clearly drunk and in dire need of being taught who not to mess with in Atlantis. He raised his claws, both clenched into fists.

"No, you aren't", he stated calmly.

The rhino snorted at this and swung at the reptile with a big, arched punch; which Coran easily ducked under and proceeded to step forward and throw an uppercut with his claws extended. The rhino, stunned, staggered back, wiping the blood from his chin. His gang quickly charged, attempting to overwhelm the monitor with brute force. Coran saw this coming, however, and started picking the mammals off one-by-one. The first happened to be the wolf, being the fastest mammal in the group, who was knocked unconscious with a well-timed left hook to the side of his head. The polar bear and buffalo arrived next, the bear swinging wildly at the lizard. Jumping off the bear's arm as he threw a punch and catapulting himself towards the buffalo. The bovid tried to grab the reptilian missile, but Coran twisted in midair; avoiding the larger mammal's hooves and landing a two-footed kick to his nose, putting him out of the brawl as well. Turning back to the bear, Coran grabbed a nearby empty beer bottle and sprinted at his prey; leaping at the pred's head and smashing the makeshift weapon across his muzzle, showering glass all over the bear's muzzle and into his eyes.

Seeing the bear fall, grabbing at his face and screaming in agony, the monitor faced the giraffe, who had rallied with his rhino boss. Everyone in the casino was watching the fight now, most placing bets into the pools that had been hastily put together as the fight began. Coran gave a small, but terrifying, smile to the gray brute as he slowly paced towards them. The giraffe and rhino, still not thinking straight due to anger and far too many drinks, decided to again charge the monitor. Coran broke into a run as he saw this and at the last moment dropped into a slide between the giraffe's legs, biting down hard on the tall mammal's right ankle and tripping him in the process. It was a dirty move, but effective and one of the assassin's favorites. His long neck being his downfall, the giraffe's head slammed into the corner of the poker table as he fell, knocking him out cold.

The rhino, realizing he could not win in a fair fight, drew his pocket knife. Slashing at Coran with the pocket knife, which was the size of a katana to smaller mammals, gradually got more and more panicked as the reptile gracefully dodged each and every swing. Growing bored of the fight, Coran pulled out the ace up his sleeve. Spinning away from the rhino, Coran reached down by his ankle, drew his revolver, and shot the rhino three times; once in each leg and once in the arm holding the blade.

Coran returned the gun back to its ankle holster as the rhino collapsed and grinned, "Guess I get to keep the table", then he turned to the huge crowd, "And for those of you who bet on me in the betting pools, next round of drinks on me!"

A significant number of cheers erupted from the crowd as Coran made his way back to his table and everything went back to normal. This was not an uncommon thing to have happen at the Atlantis Casino, so no one was fazed by the short scuffle. Drinks were just starting to get handed out when Coran's phone started buzzing on the table. Checking the caller I.D.; he scowled, grabbed his earnings for the night, said his farewells to the group, and left. He stormed out of the casino and straight to his car, a bright red Furrari, and answered the call after getting in the vehicle and slamming the door, "What do you need, boss?"

The gruff voice Coran had come to know too well chuckled lightly before answering the assassin, "And who said I need something from you, Speck? Maybe I just called to congratulate you on a job well done with two certain polar bears who happened to die tragically a few hours ago."

Speck, the name Coran gave his clients to avoid accountability and easy tracking were someone to be listening in on the conversation on the other end. The praise did not remove his frown or calm his nerves. This was the one and only animal who Coran feared; and his client-turned-boss absolutely loved it. "We both know that was a simple job and doesn't deserve any big compliments. And you've never been one to call without a serious reason for it."

"You're a smart reptile, Speck." His boss paused dramatically before continuing, "It seems Big was smarter than I thought. He didn't take the bait and seems to be proceeding more cautiously than ever. I believe we need to start with a more…unpredictable individual. There's an antelope named Stinger who works for Gary Tusk in Happy Town. I'm sure you've heard of his boss?"

"Crime lord of Happy Town who has the second most power out of all the crime lords in Zootopia. Also a notorious hothead, drunk, druggee, etcetera. Good target."

"Exactly what I thought", the voice said excitedly, "Which is why I want you to take out the antelope. He's one of Tusk's four main drug dealers and enforcers and he has a meeting with one of their runners concerning a shipment of drugs and weapons coming in later today at noon. I want him dead by 9:30."

"You got it, boss. Anything else to plant or special weapons to use this time?"

"You are receiving the extra intel on your phone now."

Coran glanced at the info and could not help but smirk, "You want me to frame HIM. You are absolutely evil, boss."

The voice smiled on the other side of the line at the fact that Coran was happy with his decision for once, "Oh, believe me, I know that better than anyone. By the way, feel free to use your "symbol" just this time. I think it may help us in the long run. Happy hunting, Speck."


	2. Chapter 2: Tusk

**A/N: Hello, readers! I have decided that I will make it my goal to post a new chapter every Saturday or Sunday. I may post early or late once in a while depending on how quickly or slowly I'm able to write new chapters. I want to always have the next week's chapter written before posting so I don't fall behind. Also, I am in need of cover art so if you are interested, send me a PM! And now, with that out of the way, proceed to Chapter 2! Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy!**

 **Sadly, I do not own Zootopia. I merely use Disney's movie for my own writing entertainment.**

 **-Eragon**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: TUSK**

 _ **CALYPSO STREET, HAPPY TOWN, 9:25 AM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18**_ _ **th**_

"Mr. Tusk, our runner is late. Should I just leave without him?"

An antelope said this into his phone, clearly frustrated with the delay and ready to leave without the sorry mammal who was possibly causing him to be late. The antelope was middle-aged and had skulls of various species of animals tattooed all over his horns. He also had a large nose ring, similar to that which large bulls would wear. The mammal he was talking to, Gary Tusk, grumbled a few curses under his breath, but ordered his main drug dealer to wait five more minutes before heading out.

Stinger, the antelope, sighed as he leaned against the driver's door his old maroon jeep that he had been driving since he was just a teen. He was preparing a sarcastic remark when he heard a pipe clang from somewhere above him. "Sir, I'll have to call you back. I may have some unexpected company."

Stinger quickly hung up and pulled a shotgun out from its resting place on the passenger seat and loaded five shells into it. As he finished and pumped the shotgun, a reptilian figure silently landed in the center of the alleyway. The figure was wearing a dark grey, sleeveless military vest along with matching pants and black boots and gloves. Three pairs of revolvers could be seen strapped to the outfit; the only difference in each set being the size of the guns. One pair was the size used by the average animal, which were set at his hips. Another pair was visibly smaller and set at about chest height, while the third pair was quite larger with one gun strapped to each thigh. The most noticeable part about this animal, however, was the mask. It was obviously some sort of metal custom-fitted to match the shape of the reptile's head; it was colored mainly silver, but had blood-red coloring along the bridge of the figure's snout leading up to a giant irregular splotch of the color over where the wearer's left eye would be. Only the right side of the mask had an eye slit, and Stinger could see a glowing yellow eyeball staring back at him and sending shivers down his spine.

The antelope may have been intimidated by the intruder, but he was either too dumb or too confident to be afraid, "Alright, ya bootskin, get outta here before I have ta blow yer brains out!"

He pointed his shotgun threateningly at the reptile, ready to fire at any wrong move. The figure merely laughed at his prey. Stinger, growing furious, continued his ranting, "You think I'm jokin'! Ya must not be from around here! In this district, my boss makes the rules and owns everyone and everything. And if you don't turn yer ugly tail around right now and scram, then I'm gonna- "

"That's quite enough, my friend", Coran interrupted, "You should feel honored. _My_ employer is allowing me to use my trademark on you; something I haven't done in years, and won't do again for many more. Now…hold still."

Before Stinger could even start to pull the trigger of his shotgun, Coran had drawn his normal-sized revolvers and fired four shots into the antelope's midsection. The shotgun clattered to the ground as Coran holstered those two guns and drew the two larger revolvers; made for taking down animals as large as elephants or rhinos. He spun them once on his claws and fired two shots into his prey, leaving a hole all the way through Stinger's body on each side of his chest. Coran then holstered those revolvers and casually walked past the dead antelope, dropping a slip of paper by the jeep as he disappeared down the other end of the alley and the blood rapidly pooled around the remains of Stinger.

* * *

 _ **DOWNTOWN ZOOTOPIA, 9:00 AM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18**_ _ **th**_

Patrolling Downtown Zootopia was usually a sure-fire way to be kept busy in the ZPD. Except today, it seemed. Judy and Caroline had been patrolling for forty-five minutes and had only seen two other cars during that time, one of the two being the ZPD's Joke-Mobile! Doing what she normally did when it was a slow and boring day, Judy attempted to start up conversation multiple times with her temporary partner to no avail. Howler would either ignore Judy or respond with a short "yes" or "no" when asked simple questions. Eventually the rabbit gave up and put her entire focus on the road, silently hoping for something, anything, to happen.

They had just reached the border between Happy Town and the Downtown District when the vehicle's radio started blaring with the same frantic yells that Nick and Zander were hearing. The pair heard Zander's reply as Judy realized Calypso Street was only just inside Happy Town and a mere two streets away; they could help too! Jumping at the chance to do something other than drive in circles, Judy grabbed the radio and responded to Clawhauser while simultaneously turning on the police lights and siren and flooring the gas pedal, "Dispatch, this is patrol car Alpha one-zero-eight; Officers Hopps and Howler; and we are en route to the place of emergency. Over."

"Ten-four, Hopps. Good luck and be safe. Over."

While Judy grinned like a madmammal thinking about catching a criminal, Caroline's frown seemed to darken, if that was even possible. She opened up the glove compartment and grabbed both of their tranquilizer pistols, quickly checking both to make sure they were loaded and in working order. Being as close to the scene as they were, they arrived in under half a minute from the ending of the call. Judy skidded the car to a stop, grabbed her tranq-pistol, and both she and Caroline bolted out of the car into the alleyway. They smelled the blood first; a lot of it. As their eyes adjusted to the dimly lit alley, they took in the surroundings that they couldn't smell. They saw an old maroon jeep, as well as an antelope lying dead on the ground with multiple bullet holes in his body and a shotgun by his side. The most surprising thing they saw, however, was the cheetah rummaging hastily through the dead antelope's belongings.

Judy, frozen in shock, could not say a word and Howler was forced to react first, "ZPD! Paws on your head!"

This did nothing other than cause the cheetah to immediately run off deeper into the alleyway, narrowly evading a dart from Howler's gun. This snapped Judy out of her trance and the pair took off after him, barely keeping up with his natural speed. Ducking and weaving through the alleys, Howler reloading her gun with a fresh dart as they did so, the officers finally realized they could no longer see the spotted tail they had been following around corners in order to stay in the chase. Luckily, Judy's hearing was powerful enough to notice a slight clanging sound above them. Looking along the right side of the alley, she saw the cheetah just under halfway up a ladder leading to the rooftops. While she ran to the ladder and began climbing, jumping up two or three rungs at a time, Howler attempted another shot at the cheetah and hit the bricks just inches from the cheetah's arm. Realizing that she could kill the cheetah if she hit him and he fell, she reloaded her pistol and worked her way towards the sidewalk so she could follow the chase along the ground.

* * *

The cheetah had slowed down when he had gotten a third of the way up the ladder due to his misguided thoughts that he had already escaped. These thoughts were shaken when he was a paw-length away from being tranqued halfway up the ladder and completely gone when, as he neared the top of the ladder, he saw the rabbit cop only four rungs below him and rapidly gaining. She reached to grab his ankle, but he managed to yank himself over the roof's edge at the last moment and take a deep breath before running again, this time across the roof of an apartment complex which was situated above a strip mall. Judy was not far behind and was in much better shape than the cheetah; she was not even breathing heavily as she chased after him. Judy attempted a shot with her tranq-gun, but the dart bounced off a vent as the cheetah zig-zagged back and forth along the roof.

The suspect had speed on his side, but no stamina to continue running for much longer. As he jumped to the roof of a slightly smaller group of stores, he nearly tripped and met the roof with his muzzle. Barely keeping his footing, he chanced a glance behind himself to see the rabbit easily clear the jump and keep running full tilt towards him, all while she was loading another dart into her gun. He saw her slow down for a moment to aim and he swerved just a foot to the left to avoid the dart. He cleared the jump to a third building and saw his escape route. He leaped off the far corner of the building and grabbed on to his homemade zipline he invented by using wire and his old bicycle handlebars. He refused to look back until he was halfway across the street and saw, to his satisfaction, that the officer was staring at the contraption in shock and no longer chasing him. His zipline ended at the far side of an alley to avoid possibly being hit by a car from it hanging too low and to be as close to his safehouse as possible.

* * *

While Judy was running along the rooftops, Howler had been patiently following along the sidewalk. She saw the cheetah leap onto his zipline and saw where he was heading, so she ran across the street to intercept him before this chase went any further. Luckily, there was still no traffic, so she had no need to stop cars and had nothing slowing her down as she crossed the road and entered yet another alleyway. She had heard sirens in the distance while following the rooftop chase and figured that it must be Oaks and Wilde securing the crime scene. _Good, less for us to worry about._

This alley was even more shaded and dimly lit than the last group they had chased the cheetah through. She heard loud knocking on a door and frantic, intelligible yells from the far end of the alley. She readied her gun and had her sights on the cheetah when the door burst open, shining bright light into the previously dim area and giving away her position. Two wolves stepped out, one white and one grey, both having a pistol in hand. These were not tranq-pistols, though; these were real-life, live ammunition, deadly pistols. She quickly took cover behind a dumpster as the grey wolf took aim at her and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Judy was in disbelief. No criminals had ever beaten her in a chase, and yet this cheetah had outsmarted her and was probably making his getaway as she climbed down the ladder back to the sidewalk. She finally realized the chase was not yet over when she remembered that Howler had been following on the ground. She hastily jumped the final few rungs to the sidewalk and started to jog across the street towards the cheetah's escape alley when she heard something she had hoped to never hear in her time as a police officer; the firing of live ammunition. She quickly picked up her pace and reached for her radio, but realized she had left it in the car due to her haste of catching a criminal. Drawing her tranq-pistol, she peeked around the corner of the alley to see a grey wolf and white wolf, both aiming live pistols at a dumpster where Howler was taking cover. Thinking she could sneak up on the wolves, she slunk around the corner towards a group of large trash cans she believed would be adequate cover. To her surprise, the white wolf immediately took notice of her and moved his aim to her side of the alley and fired twice.

Judy lunged into her cover as the bullets missed her by no more than a few fur lengths. She used the gaps between the garbage cans to her advantage and fired back with a tranq dart at the white wolf. The tranquilizer darts used by the ZPD did not travel at the same speeds as bullets, however, so the wolf easily dodged the dart and took his own cover behind an old black car while the grey wolf used the doorway as cover and hid behind the wall of the building. The wolves had a large advantage by using live pistols since they had six shots before they had to reload, unlike the officers who had to reload after every dart they fired. Judy saw Howler attempt a shot at the grey wolf only for him to duck behind the doorframe and pop back out firing the five remaining bullets in his clip at her. It was easy to tell that the grey wolf was neither an experienced nor a very capable fighter, as he missed every shot and had wasted his ammo by firing after Howler had already taken cover.

Seeing Howler had her radio and knowing that Howler would have already called for backup, she returned her attention to the white wolf, who was still behind the car. As she peeked out to get a better angle at him, he swiftly reached his arm around the side of the car and fired a shot at her. It clanged off the garbage can, shaking her cover and throwing off her own shot, which struck the right-paw mirror of the car. Judy shrunk back and reloaded before firing at yet another different angle. The white wolf seemed truly surprised by this shot and only just managed to jerk his arm out of the way of the dart; then he fired three shots at Judy. One at her current cover, provoking her to move to another garbage can; the next at the garbage can she was heading towards, provoking a second movement; the third directly at her. Judy screamed as the bullet punctured her right ear and felt blood begin to pour out of the wound.

She put her back to the largest of the garbage cans and pulled her ear down to inspect it. The bullet had gone through the upper portion of the cartilage and was causing quite the mess. Yanking a pawkerchief out of her belt pouch, she tied it tightly below the hole in order to prevent as much blood loss as possible. But she had already lost a good amount of blood and her vision was becoming a bit foggy. She barely heard Howler calling out to her, "Hopps! Hopps! Are you alright?"

"I'll be okay as long as help is on the way."

"Already done! Hang in there! We won't be able to get any help if we're dead when the backup arrives!"

Judy nodded absently as she tried to reload her pistol, but the dart kept falling out of her paw. Her vision was getting blurrier and starting to get black along the edges. Eventually, she passed out from the pain and blood loss, leaving Howler to fight two dangerously armed wolves on her own.

* * *

Nick and Zander arrived at the crime scene not long after the other cop duo began chasing the cheetah. Nick brought the car to a much smoother and controlled stop and grabbed his tranq-pistol and radio as he got out of the car and analyzed the alleyway. Neither the blood nor the sight of a dead mammal fazed the fox and springhare as both had seen far worse before. Zander motioned for Nick to check out the maroon jeep while he put on a pair of latex gloves and knelt down next to the deceased antelope. Nick, also donning the plastic gloves, checked the glove compartment first, hoping to find some way to identify the victim. Finding an insurance card stating the jeep under the ownership of Brock Sting, a male antelope, he figured he had found the identity of their dead mammal. He also found an empty box without any labels on it. Placing the box back where he found it and the insurance card in an evidence envelope, which he also left in the glove compartment for the forensics team to analyze, he continued around to the back of the vehicle to check out the trunk.

To his shock and satisfaction, he found some extremely incriminating pieces of evidence in the trunk. There was about ten pounds of Catnip, a hallucinogen, along with more boxes matching the one in the glove compartment. Only these boxes were full of live shotgun shells, which were _very_ illegal. Nick put the Catnip in one evidence bag and the boxes of shells in another and left both in the trunk for forensics. He turned back to Zander and was about to make a sly comment when he saw a look of utter terror on the smaller mammal's face. Nick walked over and placed a paw on his temporary partner's shoulder, "Hey, Oaks, everything alright?"

Zander said nothing for a few moments, then he spoke barely above a whisper, "You used to live here, right? And you've lived in Zootopia your whole life?"

Nick wasn't sure where he was going with this, but answered anyways, "Well yeah, why?"

"Notice anything about our victim here?"

Nick looked down at the antelope. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The victim had been shot more than often and with some high caliber bullets, but that wasn't anything extraordinary for Happy Town. Wait, those bullet holes were not just randomly placed. There was something more to them. _Where have I seen this before?_ Then it dawned on him, "You don't think..."

Zander looked up at him with fiery certainty in his eyes, "Either it's him or a copycat and either way we have a major problem on our paws!"

 _Bang!_

Both predator and prey looked at each other in genuine concern as they heard the faraway gunshot. Nick started sprinting off in the direction that he believed the sound came from, calling back to Zander as he did so, "Come on! Carrots and Howler could be in trouble!"

The yell had the desired effect as Zander quickly caught up to him and both ran towards the sounds of more gunshots. Nick was talking as calmly as he could into his radio, demanding for a forensics team at the crime scene and for backup. When he got the response that Howler had already contacted Clawhauser for backup, he could do nothing other than worry for Judy's safety. She was always the one to call things in first, always. If she was hurt, or worse, he didn't know what he would do. She kept him going and helped him to become more than just what everyone else thinks he should be. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't even be a police officer or in a position even remotely like this one. But he had to be strong through this, or he would not be any help when he arrived at the fight. Nick gripped his tranq-pistol furiously in his paw. He was going to help Judy or die trying.

* * *

Howler couldn't keep this fight up for much longer. The white wolf had figured out that Hopps was out of the fight when he never got return fire after he had struck her with one of his shots. Now she was receiving enemy fire from two angles, both having more shots per reload and more dangerous weaponry than herself. She was a solid gunfighter, but she accepted that she was outnumbered and outmatched in this battle. Her only hope was that backup arrived before one of the wolves managed to get a lucky shot and wound or kill her. Taking a quick glance beforepaw, she rapidly stuck her paw out and tried to dart the more experienced white wolf, but he again took cover behind the car before being hit.

The grey wolf took a shot at Howler while she was vulnerable, grazing her arm. She gasped and looked at the damage, but it was no serious injury and she could easily fight through it. Seeing that he had hit his adversary, the grey wolf quickly shuffled up to the opposite side of the dumpster that Howler was taking cover behind. Howler noticed this and realized that she was cornered. Ready to give up and stay hidden in a type of last stand, she checked her ammo one last time. Four darts were all she had left. The white wolf made a move to gain a better angle of Howler by moving to where the rabbit had once been hiding. Since Howler was checking her ammo, she didn't see him until it was too late. But before the white wolf fired, his concentration was broken by an animal yelling down the alleyway.

"Hey, jagbags! Stop pick'n on the ladies, will ya?!"

It was Wilde. That stupid, ignorant, reckless red fox was insulting and scolding two dangerously armed criminals. But she couldn't complain too much. It had prevented her from dying so far and had gotten the wolves' attentions. She realized the grey wolf was coming out from behind the dumpster, gun raised at Wilde, and tried to fire a dart at him; but she hadn't yet reloaded her gun. The fox needed no help, though, as he effortlessly crouched down and revealed Zander holding his tranq-pistol. The wolf had no time to react as the springhare's dart struck him in the chest, knocking him out cold in less than a few seconds. Then, while Wilde was seemingly distracted, the white wolf attempted a shot at the fox. This was expected however as the red-furred canine shifted his feet slightly, taking both himself and Zander out of the path of the bullet. And during this shift he raised his own pistol and shot an unexpected dart at the white wolf, striking him in the neck and knocking him out as well.

Howler could only look in complete awe at the fact that her partner and this mangy red fox had so effortlessly taken down the wolves. She shouldn't have been surprised, though. She knew Zander was a deadeye shot, and she had read somewhere about how the fox supposedly held the record at the academy shooting range for most bull's-eyes in a row. While she was still sitting by the dumpster, Nick was running over to his passed out partner.

* * *

Fearing the worst, Nick turned Judy face-up. Scanning her for any major wounds other than her ear, he found none and quickly retied the pawkerchief since her ear was still bleeding. He reached for radio and asked Clawhauser how far out the ambulance was. When he got the reply of "only a couple" minutes and heard the sirens seconds later, he was immensely relieved. Picking up Judy in his arms, he carried her out to the emergency responders. They put her on a stretcher and got her into the ambulance, Nick following behind. Nobody questioned his actions, for if anyone was to be allowed by her side, it would be this fox. As the emergency vehicle made its way towards Zootopia General Hospital, they worked on Judy's ear and got her stabilized while stopping as much of the bleeding as possible. Nick got constant reassurance that she would be okay, but he wanted to see that before he completely believed it.

While Nick got to go on his joyride, Oaks and Howler were stuck behind to deal with the Precinct Nine and One officers who needed their reports of the whole incident. Luckily, Chief Bogo arrived after they had resaid the events that had occurred for the third time and got them away from the remaining officers and the media reporters who had begun to arrive at the scene. Bogo decided the best option would be to take the coyote and springhare back to their patrol cars, but he did have questions of his own to ask before doing this, "Both of you worked in Precinct Nine for many years, any idea who the wolves were or why they shot at you?"

Oaks and Howler looked at each other, unsure how to respond to such a weighty question. Then, taking initiative, Oaks gave the best answer he could, "Well, Chief, I don't know why they shot at Howler and Hopps other than they were trying to help a suspect escape. But, I do know that there are only two groups in Happy Town who have a supply of live guns. One is Precinct Nine, and I know they weren't shooting at us. The other...is a much more likely option. I'm sure you are familiar with the name 'Tusk'?"

"I believe he is a crime lord in this district, correct?"

"Yes, and a very dangerous one. He usually keeps to his space, but his animals were way out of his normal area today. This means one of two things. Either he's testing to see how the ZPD reacts or...", Zander trailed off.

Bogo glanced at him in frustration, "Or what, Oaks?!"

Zander couldn't look anywhere but straight out the windshield at the road in front of them, "...Or someone pissed him and his people off. And he's going to get vengeance, no matter what the cost may be for him."

* * *

 ** _HAPPY TOWN, UNKNOWN TIME, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th_**

The cheetah entered a shabby office, decorated by only a single rickety desk and two beat-up chairs. One was situated behind the desk with a huge boar seated in it, sharpening a dagger. The other was on the direct opposite side of the desk and the cheetah sat down, shaking slightly in his nervousness. The boar continued in sharpening the blade for a minute longer before speaking in a dark and foreboding voice, not even looking up at the feline seated in front of him, "Willy, would you like to explain to me why Stinger is dead?"

"Boss, I swear I didn't do nothin' to-"

The boar slammed the dagger down into the table before screaming at his runner, "Did I say you did!? No! Now tell me what the hell happened out there!"

Willy shrunk back at the yells and decided to just tell him, "I was runnin' late 'cause I ran out of gas in my car and I got into a little tussle wid dis pig, so I had to run de last few blocks to de meetin' place. By de time I got der, Stinger was dead with bullet holes all over him. I searched de whole area to find out who mighta done it and only found one ding."

The cheetah reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card and handed it to the boar, "Dis musta been dropped by de killer as he was leavin'. I also took all of Stinger's important papers so dey can't connect him to us."

Willy's boss was seething as he looked at the card, "They'll connect him to us anyways purely out of superstition, kit. We get blamed for everything bad that ever happens in this rat-hole district. Killing Stinger, however, is a direct threat against us and I will not stand for it! That bear has insulted my dignity for the last time! The Tusk Gang is going to finally get some vengeance for all the wrongs done against us! Follow me, it's time to get the boys gathered! We've got to get the Wolf Brothers back if we're to pull this off!"

And with that, Tusk grabbed his dagger and stormed out of the office, Willy close behind, and left the business card sitting on his desk. All that could be read was: **HAFTOHN INCORPORATED,** _FINANCIAL HELP AGENCY_.


	3. Chapter 3: Connections

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Yes, I posted earlier than I normally would, but don't expect that to be a normal thing. Just one more quick note for this one. I am in need of cover art eventually so if any of you are interested, PM me! I also may be needing OCs in the future so send me a PM if you want more details on that. Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy Chapter 3!**

 **Disney owns Zootopia, I do not.**

 **-Eragon**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3: CONNECTIONS**

 _ **ZOOTOPIA GENERAL HOSPITAL, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT; 4:00 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th**_

Judy woke up to bright lights and bland white room. She looked around and recognized that she was in a hospital room. As she studied her surroundings she noticed a pressure on her left paw and looked over to see a red-furred paw on top of her own. She smiled as she looked over and saw her fox partner sleeping in a chair next to her bed. Squeezing Nick's paw, she giggled as he smiled in his sleep. Moving nothing over than her eyes, she turned her attention back to analyzing her surroundings. She was in a larger than average bed for her, but not huge. There were two IV needles in her right arm coming from two bags of clear liquid. There was a TV in the upper right corner of the room, but it was off and she didn't see a remote anywhere. She thought she heard someone talking outside her door and began to perk her ears up higher so she could hear when an arcing pain shot up her right ear.

As she gasped in pain, both the animal outside her door and the red fox next to her reacted immediately. Nick shot awake, shaking his head to clear away the fogginess from his nap, before looking at her in concern. The animal outside opened the door to the room quickly, revealing a middle-aged, female arctic fox in a doctor's coat holding a clipboard and pen. Before she could tell either of them that she was fine, the doctor was introducing herself, "Good afternoon, Officer Hopps, my name is Dr. Finch. Do you remember what happened?"

The rabbit was silent in thought for a moment before speaking, "I was in a shootout with two wolves. One of them shot me and Howler called for assistance and then...everything went black. Wait is Howler okay?!"

Nick answered this question with a reassuring smile on his muzzle, "Don't worry, Carrots, everyone else is fine. Oaks and I got to the shootout before Howler was heavily injured. She received a small graze on her arm that got bandaged up by the paramedics. The wolves are now sitting at Precinct Nine's holding cells until they can be questioned as to why they were shooting at you and Howler."

With that worry out of the way, Judy could finally ask about her ear concern, "So how bad is my ear, Dr. Finch?"

Putting on a pair of reading glasses in a manner not unlike the duo's chief, Dr. Finch began reading off the specifics of Judy's injury. "Well, the bullet punctured the upper portion of your ear, leaving a hole that will never fully close. This will impair your hearing on that side, but since rabbits have such outstanding hearing to begin with, you will still have better than average hearing out of that ear. The wound also caused a good amount of blood loss, but as long as you keep your fluid intakes up, your blood levels will be back to normal fairly quickly. Over all, you are set to recover remarkably quickly and your are lucky that the bullet struck the upper part of your ear and not farther down, as you could have lost nearly all of your hearing in your right ear or the entire ear in general."

This came as a bit of a surprise for Judy, as she hadn't expected for the hole to last or to damage her hearing. She was hoping the wound would be a memory after a couple months. Now she would have the scar forever as a reminder of this horrible experience. What would her parents say when they found out?! They would make her quit the force if they knew she was in this kind of danger. Dropping her head into her paws, not caring about the pain from jostling her ear, she began to sob. Judy felt a squeeze on her arm and glanced up to see Nick resting his paw on her arm and looking at her with those concern-filled emerald eyes again. He turned to Dr. Finch, "Hey, Doc, could we have a moment, please?"

She looked at him in bewilderment for a moment before replying, "Uh, yes, Officer Wilde. I'll be out in the hall if either of you need anything."

With that she spun on her heel and exited the room, closing the door on her way out. Nick turned back to the crying bunny next to him, "Carrots, what's wrong?"

Judy mumbled unintelligibly into her paws while still crying, giving the fox no actual answer. Only when he squeezed her arm gently again did she actually lift her head completely from her paws and look him in the eyes. Injured violet looked into comforting emerald not for the first time in their period of being friends and partners on the force. The opposite had also happened before, most noticeably being during the Nighthowler Case. She tried to be strong and just talk to him, but broke down into sobs again before she could make out any words and dropped her head into the Nick's arms now. He carefully held her in a position that wouldn't cause any pain for her ear before talking again.

"Oh, you bunnies are so emotional! You want to actually talk yet?"

Judy nodded and started to form sentences between and through sobs, "When I...t-told my parents...that I wanted to be a p-police officer...I-I promised I would never get h-h-hurt. If they s-see me like...th-this...they'll make me l-l-leave the force! But I don't w-want to quit! I want to st-st-stay!"

Finishing the last statement, she buried her head into Nick's arms and started sobbing heavily again. The red fox could only chuckle at her, since he knew none of that reasoning made any logical sense. Judy took his chuckling as him making fun of her however, and pushed away from him, rolling so she was facing away from him as her sobbing changed to pouting. This only made Nick chuckle more, however, and did not have the effect she was hoping for.

* * *

Nick knew Judy wasn't telling him the whole truth. Part of the reason was because he knew she would never let anyone or anything get in her way of being on the force. The other part was due to the fact that he could see in her eyes that she was hiding something from him. And he was going to find out what that was, "So, Carrots, you want to actually tell me what's bothering you?"

The bunny twisted back to face him again, nearly stunned at his words, "Nick! I told you what was bothering me! Why would you think I wouldn't tell you anything?! Who do you think I am?!"

"Oh, just a widdle bunny wabbit that is so completely embarrassed or upset about something that she won't even tell her partner what's going on. But that's none of my business now, is it?", Nick replied, a smirk starting to form.

"How could you even say that about me? I would never lie to-"

The fox held up his paw and interrupted her, "Let me stop you right there, Fluff. I'll make this all simple for you. You are trying to hustle a hustler, which you've done before, but whoopsie; this hustler is one of the best at knowing how animals are thinking and feeling. Then you said you're upset because your parents will make you quit when they find out about your ear. Understandable, but double whoopsie, I know you well enough to know that NOTHING will stand in your way of being a police officer. And whoopsie number threesie, you then proceeded to tell me that you weren't keeping anything from me, but I can see in your eyes right now that you're lying to me, which means you are also hiding something from me."

Judy stared at Nick, agape, whilst his classic smirk finally taking over his entire face. He had her right where he wanted her, "I guess I know you better than you thought, huh Carrots?"

The bunny began to break down into tears again. Nick wasn't necessarily happy with himself for what he said, but he didn't feel bad either. He needed to know what was causing his partner, the strongest mammal he knew, to be in this much emotional pain or he would never be able to help her. He waited respectfully for her to pull herself back together enough to talk before doing or saying anything else. As she looked up at him with tears still streaming down the fur of her cheeks, he pulled her into his arms, consoling her with his embrace.

"You ready to tell me now?", the fox asked.

Judy chuckled at the fox's persistence, the tears no longer flowing, "You aren't going to just let this go, are you?"

"Nope!"

* * *

Judy sighed. This was going to be an extremely tough thing for her to tell Nick. What she was about to say was as a "secret" of sorts among rabbits. It was against custom for a rabbit to tell anyone outside of their species, but it was not unheard of. Still, Judy always tried to follow rules if she could. But if she was to keep the trust and friendship between herself and Nick, she should tell him. He had a right to know anyways since he was her best friend. "Well, it's kind of a complicated thing, but I guess you should know if we are going to stay partners and friends in the foreseeable future. And you've proven yourself to be a good friend who won't use this against me and...", Judy smiled awkwardly as Nick gave her a look that screamed ' _just tell me, already!_ ' and cleared her throat before continuing, "Ears are viewed as the most important part of the body to take care of in rabbit culture, especially among females. It's the first thing male rabbits look at and first impressions are often based on how well taken care of a rabbit's ears are. Many female rabbits who obtain an ear injury or disorder that wrecks the 'look' of their ears end up never finding mates due to their ears being a disgrace and 'foul to put eyes on.' It's one of the worst things that can happen to young adult, female rabbits."

Her awkward smile morphed into a frown as she spoke, holding back the tears that were threatening to again pour out of her eyes. Now that she had started telling Nick her problem, she couldn't stop herself from rattling off more and more of her worries, "I don't know what I'm going to do, Nick! All I've ever wanted to do, even more than be a police officer, was settle down and have a family. With my ear like this, I might never find a mate now!"

Nick tried to interrupt her and bring her back to reality, "Hey, Carrots-"

"I'll never get married or have children or grow old enough to spoil my grandkits!"

Nick was getting a bit more desperate as his plea fell on ears that weren't listening, "Carrots, just listen-"

"My parents might even disown me for being a disgrace! How will I be able to tell them about this?!"

That was the last straw for Nick as he finally raised his voice to a yell, "JUDY!"

The rabbit was actually stunned this time. Nick rarely used her actual name, and that was only when he was worried or when he had something important to say. She didn't know which this was, maybe it was both, but she couldn't even react as she saw the look on the fox's face. He looked...sad. She had only ever seen that look on him once before; back when he told her about how he was muzzled as a child. He had her full attention as she waited for whatever important words he had to say.

* * *

Nick didn't even know what he wanted to say, only that he needed to say something. He couldn't bear seeing her like this. She was such a better and stronger animal than she was making herself out to be, and he would do everything in his power to make her know that. There was just this feeling within him that made him want to help her and cheer her up. Then it finally hit him. _Ah biscuits! I'm freaking in love with a bunny._ _Nice job, Wilde._ He couldn't just tell her that, though...or could he? No, it was too risky, especially if she didn't feel the same way about him. But he could still find a way to possibly get her in a better mood and still show a tiny bit of affection towards her, right? He only had one way to find out, "Am I allowed to give my opinion on this matter?"

Judy nodded so he took a deep breath and continued, "If an animal is really going to judge you based on a hole in your ear, do you really want to be friends with or marry that animal? Because to me, all that says is that they're a terrible animal and don't deserve you anyways. Also, if anything, that hole is going to augment you and your personality. You're a tough-as-nails bunny who is willing to do whatever is right, no matter what the cost. Well, having an injured ear from the line of duty only shows how far you're willing to go to do the right thing and help other animals. Your ear will show your character and personality, and any animal who pays attention and sees you for you rather than for how your ears look will be lucky to have you as a mate, or as a friend for that matter. Also, I think the fact that you're going to have a hole in your ear is going to make you look pretty badass, if I do say so myself."

Nick never broke eye contact with Judy as he said all this, giving her one of his few genuine smiles at the end. The rabbit was speechless, which was either really good or really bad in Nick's case. Then she wrapped her arms around him and gave him the biggest hug she could manage, grinning as he returned the hug. As they broke apart, violet eyes met emerald once again as they both smiled at each other. Nick was mentally preparing himself to just tell her and opened his mouth to speak when there was three loud knocks on the door. The duo heard Dr. Finch's voice from outside the room, "Officers Hopps and Wilde, Police Chief Bogo is here to see you."

Nick gave a big sigh of both relief and slight frustration, "You can let him in, Doc. I think Carrots is well enough to speak normally now."

Nick gave Judy a wink as the doctor left to get the Chief. As the door opened, Bogo was forced to duck under the doorframe and keep his head low since the room was built for housing animals only as large as a big wolf or small tiger. Nick saw two thing he thought he would never see on his Chief's face, concern and worry. Bogo found his way over to the largest chair in the room and sat, the chair creaking under his weight before the legs collapsed and sent Bogo all the way to the floor, where he sat with his nostrils flaring in anger. Nick had to stifle his laughter as the Chief stood up, kicked the remains of the chair aside, and decided to just remained standing hunched over. Judy kept her air of professionalism and saluted Bogo from her bed, which he greatly appreciated as he waved for her to relax. The fox finally managed to cough away his laughter, putting his natural smirk on his face and leaning back in his chair.

Bogo coughed himself before addressing his two officers, "First off, Hopps, are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"Well...", she glanced at Nick and put on a smirk of her own, "I feel fit as a fiddle, Chief, and I'd like to get back out in the field as soon as possible. "

The Chief didn't even seemed surprised by this, "Already done. All you have to do is sign a few things and you'll be out of here whenever you wish." He then turned to the fox, "Wilde, great work out there. Thank you for saving two of my officers."

"It was my pleasure, Chief. I couldn't let my partner, here, get hurt anyways. I probably would be out of a job then.", Nick responded with his eyes closed, still smirking and leaning back in his chair.

The buffalo snorted at this and gave him a small glare, but Nick wasn't looking so it didn't really faze him at all; though he could feel the glare. Bogo then turned his glare away and continued to more pressing matters, "Well with that out of the way, the ZPD has a problem. We identified the victim to be a drug dealer who worked for an animal by the name of Gary Tusk. Before you ask, I'll answer, Hopps. Tusk is the crime lord of Happy Town. And yes, there is some form of a crime lord and gang in every district. Now, this drug dealer, according to the officers of Precinct Nine, was one of the right hand mammals for Tusk. So, if he was murdered by another gang, which we believe he was based on the high tensions between all of the crime lords, then we have the spark that could start the fire of a gang war in this city. And I will NOT have that happen on my watch. So, we are going to find out what is going on and who killed the antelope. So far, there are no leads, witnesses, or suspects other than that cheetah that escaped and a possible contact through an old friend of mine. The only duo that has solved a case with this little to go off of was you two, so I want the both of you on it. Oaks and Howler will patrol Happy Town and assist you two in whatever you need until this case is closed. Understood?"

Both nodded and saluted him. "Good! Now there is one other thing you should know. Wilde may already know this, but we found that the bullet holes on the antelope made a symbol.", he pulled a picture out of his pocket and handed it to Judy while he kept speaking, "As you can see, the large bullet holes are located on each side of the lower chest, forming eyes, then four smaller bullet holes form a zigzag pattern over the left side, or right eye. This symbol was used by the most notorious assassin in Zootopian history. He has twenty-seven confirmed kills and we have never caught him. If he was hired by a gang to attack Tusk's henchmammal, we have a serious issue. I have Royal and Whitefang looking into him so if they find anything, they'll let you know. Now, both of you look at me."

They looked up and made eye contact with their Chief. "Do either of you have anyone, friends or family or even just people you've briefly met, with a connection to any gangs that could give us info on who would target Tusk? We need to try to end this before it spirals out of control."

Nick and Judy looked at each other, a silent argument reaching only one conclusion. Judy looked back to Bogo, "Well, Chief, seems like we're in luck. I do know some animals who may be able to help us."

The buffalo was extremely confused. He thought the fox might know someone, but the fact that his rabbit officer was the one with contacts caught him completely off guard, "Hopps, who could would you know that would be able and willing to help us?"

* * *

 ** _ZPD PRECINCT THREE HEADQUARTERS, TUNDRATOWN, 5:30 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th_**

Victor Clawson was sitting at his desk, skimming the news for any sign of Big Family activity, when he had found out about the homicide and consequential shootout that occurred in Precinct Nine. At first he didn't really care. What happened in the Downtown area and Happy Town was those officer's problems, not his. Then the information came in that the murder happened to work closely with the Tusk Gang. His instincts told him something didn't quite seem right, and as he researched more, he discovered that his instincts were proving to be correct. The fact that the two murdered polar bears from the previous night and the antelope from earlier that day were both in close association with gangs couldn't be just a coincidence. He needed to tell his Chief about this.

Marching from his cubicle up to his Chief's office, he knocked twice on the door before getting an immediate 'enter' from his boss. He casually opened the door and slid into a chair across from Precinct Three's Chief, Paul Gallant. Chief Gallant was a slightly smaller than average polar bear, but he was tough as nails and carried a 'don't-screw-with-me' atmosphere that every one of his officers respected. The polar bear had been Chief of Precinct Three for twelve years and on the force for twenty-five. He was serious when working, but had a kind and caring atmosphere that he would let show when it was needed or when he was off. This was the Gallant that Clawson saw as he entered the office and saw a friendly smile make its way onto Gallant's muzzle.

"Ah, how are we today Clawson", the Chief asked sincerely. Victor couldn't manage to give a smile back and kept an air of professionalism since he had suspicions that probably would take his Chief out of this good mood. He coughed once into his paw before sighing and speaking his worries to Gallant, "I can't say I'm doing great, sir. I've hit a good number of dead ends with the Big Family since my escapade last night and I won't be able to go undercover anymore if Big is involved since he now knows my face. I also have a more...concerning idea bouncing around inside my head."

Gallant leaded forward with his paws propping up his head and prompted for Victor to continue. "Well, you see, sir. I noticed that in less that twelve hours, two polar bears who had connections to the Big Family and an antelope with connections to the Tusk Gang were killed. That strikes me as a bit odd and my instincts are telling me it can't just be coincidence."

"What are you saying, Clawson?"

The wolverine again sighed deeply, breaking eye contact with his Chief as he looked out the window at a beautiful sunset and the glistening snow of his home district. He turned back to Gallant with new determination in his eyes, "I think someone is targeting members of the gangs. I don't know who or why, but I think someone needs to look into it. I might be wrong and it could be just coincidence, but I came to ask if either I or someone else in the Precinct who you trust could be assigned to further investigate this."

Gallant folded his paws and looked down at his desk in thought before responding, "You're asking me to give up an officer or detective on pure suspicion, Clawson. That's a tough thing for me to do, but you are one of the best officers in Zootopia, so if you think something more is going on then I'll at least give it a chance. You have three days to find evidence proving this is more than just a coincidence. If-"

"Sir, three days might be too little time.", Victor interrupted, "Could I at least get a week to investigate and research?"

"No.", Gallant responded simply, "As I said, bring me any kind of evidence in the next three days and I'll give you full investigative rights. But I need some sort of evidence or City Hall will chew me out for there being a case based around pure speculation and no proof. I truly hope you're wrong about this. I don't know if this city can handle another huge case like the one your suggesting. Everyone is still recovering from the Night Howler Case. This would tear the city in two. Now go, find out whether or not your suspicions are justified."

Victor stood and gave Chief Gallant a salute before turning and reaching for the door handle. Then the polar bear's voice spoke up again, "Do you even have any ideas where to start on this, Clawson?"

Victor grimaced as he remembered his first idea for getting a lead, "Yes, sir. There is an old...acquaintance of mine who works at Precinct Two. She knows all about gangs and how they think; so if anyone can help me find a place to start, it'll be her."

Gallant looked at his officer with bewilderment, "I thought you two weren't on speaking terms?"

Pain flashed in the wolverine's eyes before it was rapidly covered with calmness and determination, "We aren't."

With that, he left his Chief's office, closing the door and heading for the vehicle depot.

* * *

 **A/N Part 2: Sorry about the second author's note, but this is extremely important. I need to thank Keftense for everything they have done to help me be motivated and encouraged to write this story. You always have amazing advice and have kept me going through writing blocks and manic writing sessions alike. If any of you other readers haven't read his story ( _Integrity, Trust, and Bravery)_ then you should. It is one of my favorite fanfics out there and Keftense puts such amazing effort and passion into his writing so y'all need to just go read it. Okay, now I'm done. I hope you all have an awesome week and that you'll stick around to read Chapter 4 next weekend!**

 **-Eragon05**


	4. Chapter 4: Wildfire

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Eragon here again with Chapter 4 all set and ready for y'all! I'm still in need of cover art and could use a few OC ideas so PM me if any of you are interested in either. This has been by far my favorite chapter to write so far so I hope you have as much fun reading as I had writing! Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy!**

 **Thanks again to Keftense for the support, encouragement, and advice!**

 **-Eragon**

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOUR: WILDFIRE**

 _ **ZOOTOPIA GENERAL HOSPITAL, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, 4:30 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th**_

Chief Bogo was holding his hoof to his forehead, still trying to comprehend what his officers were telling him. "Let me get this straight. So Wilde, you used to work for Mr. Big before you went to the police academy, had a falling out with him, and were hated by him for three years after this so called 'skunk-butt rug' incident?"

The red fox kept his smirk plastered to his face, "Yes, sir, that sounds about right."

The buffalo then turned his gaze over to the injured rabbit still sitting up in her hospital bed, "And Hopps, you ended up saving Mr. Big's daughter, this 'Fru Fru', when you caught Weaselton on your first day? This resulted in him sparing your lives when he caught you snooping around his limos during the Night Howler Case and in you becoming the godmother to a CRIME LORD'S grandchildren?"

"Yes, Chief, that is all correct.", Judy replied with a timid smile and quickly added, "But we don't work with them at all. They are just friends. Odd friends, but neither of us get involved in the other's line of business."

Bogo could only look at the duo in astonishment. Every time he thought he had them figured out, they would throw a curveball like this at him. He couldn't believe that these two officers had direct connections to TundraTown's crime lord. Well, he could believe Wilde had connections like this. That made sense based on his past, but Hopps having this kind of connection just left him in puzzlement. As he struggled with digesting this new information, he could see his officers squirming where they were sitting. Coming to a conclusion after a minute or two, he finally spoke again, "I trust that you two have no involvement in Big's "line of business" as you called it, but if I find out either of you are then I will personally hunt you down and beat the fur off of you. Now, if we weren't in this situation I would chew you out and put you on parking duty for the next month for having a connection like this, but again, we needed a connection like this if we are going to find out why someone would hire an assassin to kill one of Tusk's mammals. Don't think we won't be having a long conversation about your "friend" after we sort out this mess because we most certainly will be. Now, I can't believe I'm asking you two this... How soon can you talk with Mr. Big?"

Both officers were afraid at first of what Bogo might say about their "connection", but as the the buffalo kept speaking they realized that this was the best lead the ZPD had. So they were in the clear, for now at least. Judy spoke up concerning the Chief's question, "Well I can call Fru Fru right now and find out when would be the best time to go talk to him. That does bring up a question of my own though. Where's my cell phone?"

"I can answer that.", Wilde said, "During the chase and shootout you left it in your cruiser. I believe Howler put it back in our cubicle at the Precinct."

"Oh. Okay.", Judy saw the Chief still looking expectantly at her, "Nick, give me your phone so I can call Fru Fru."

Nick unlocked his phone and handed it to her and she made the call. The two males heard a squeal from the other end of the line as the phones connected. There was a couple back and forth responses that could only be assumed to be the shrew and rabbit talking about the latter's injury. As the conversation kept stretching on without Judy saying a word about Mr. Big, Bogo became more and more frustrated. He gave a short snort, getting Judy's attention, and made a motion with his hooves telling her to speed things up. She understood and interrupted whatever random gossip Fru Fru was saying, "Hey, Fru Fru, I need to ask you something important. When would Nick and I be able to meet up with your father?"

She waited for a moment for a response and spoke again, "We can get there as soon as I sign some paperwork and I'm cleared to leave."

Another pause, "Yep, we will see you soon. Bye, Fru Fru! Say high to little Judy for me!"

There was one last high-pitched response before both ended the phone call, Judy handing the phone back to Nick. She then turned to Bogo, "Fru Fru said that Mr. Big wanted to speak with us as well so we can meet up with him anytime the rest of the night. If it's okay with you, Chief, I'd like to get cleared right away and get over there."

The buffalo nodded before walking out of the room and calling Dr. Finch over. The arctic vixen grabbed her clipboard along with a few sheets of paper and strolled over to Judy's bedside. "Hello, again, Officer Hopps. I heard you are all set and ready to go. All I need you to do is sign these forms here and then give them back to me. I'll sign them as well and you'll be out of here within the hour. You'll be sent home with pain medication, antibiotics, and the proper bandages for your ear and we will need to see you back here next week to check the wound. If all is well then, you'll probably only need to come back one more time a couple weeks afterward. I'll show you and your partner how to properly wrap your ear so that you can change bandages while at home and he can help you if the wound becomes agitated or starts to bleed while you are on the job. Officer Hopps, are you listening?"

Judy had only been half-listening as she skimmed the documents before signing each one. She looked up after the doctor's question, "Uh, yeah, of course. Sending me home with meds, you'll show me how to bandage it properly, I need to come back in two weeks-"

"One week.", Nick interrupted, "Don't worry, Doc, I'll make sure Carrots takes care of herself and pays attention to how to properly take care of her ear. Thank you, for everything."

"It's been my pleasure. It's not an everyday event that you get to help a city hero. I'll take those forms for you and grab all your supplies.", Dr. Finch responded, taking the signed papers from Judy and exiting, only to return a few minutes later with two paper bags in her paws. The vixen quickly explained the medication and that Judy was to take a pill of pain medicine and a pill of antibiotics once each morning and once with her afternoon meal before bed. She then pulled a series of gauzes, Band-Aid's, wraps, and other bandaging supplies out of the other bag; and carefully showed Nick and Judy how to bandage the rabbit's ear without causing pain or discomfort from the wound. With that settled, Judy was released and left the hospital happy as could be, her right ear looking as if it had been mummified. Nick was also happy due to the fact that he had his partner back and because Judy was in such a better mood than when she had first woken up.

Bogo had brought his giant cruiser to pick the pair up, so the two decided to just share the passenger seat since there was more than enough room for both of them. They could have comfortably sat a third small mammal in the same seat if they really wanted to. As they made their way back to Precinct One, both Judy and Nick were lost in thought on their new case. This would be a case just as challenging as the Night Howler Case and much more dangerous based off the fact that they had already faced animals with live weapons. As Nick kept reliving the Night Howler Case, he thought of an idea. A crazy idea that probably would fail spectacularly, but if it worked out it would change this case completely. He had to get it passed Judy first, though, if he was to go through with his plan, "So, Carrots, I was thinking about the case, and I think I might know an animal who could give us some valuable intel."

"Is it Finnick?", Judy asked with a smirk, "I hope it is. He's the only animal I know that can keep your ego in check. It would be fun to see that again."

Nick grimaced at the thought, "Wouldn't be fun for me. And no, actually. Fin refused to ever get involved in the organized crime gangs. He enjoyed just being a confox. The animal I was thinking of was actually Duke Weaselton. He has-"

"No.", Judy interrupted without looking at the fox.

"Carrots, just hear me out-"

Judy spun in their shared seat and glared up at him, "No means no, Nick. I am not dealing with a criminal that will only want money for giving us information and will probably lie to us anyways. So no, we are not going to try and get Weaselton to help us."

"I didn't say that 'we' have to meet him. What I was going to propose was that while you meet with Mr. Big, I go talk to Weaselton. That way we don't waste any time and we look into two leads in one evening."

"Weaselton is not a lead!", the rabbit was yelling at him now, "And how do you think Mr. Big will feel if I show up alone? You not being there could be taken as disrespect and won't look good for you!"

Now Nick was yelling back, much to Chief Bogo's discomfort at his two officer's arguing like this, "Mr. Big doesn't like me anyways! The only reason he doesn't hate me is because I'm friends with you! Whether or not I show up won't change his opinion about me!"

Judy was opening her mouth to argue further when Bogo's voice cut in, "Oh, enough! Will you two stop arguing like kits already! I swear my head was going to explode if I listened to you two argue any further! Now if I may share my opinion, I think the best course of action is to do what Wilde is saying. If you are family friends with him, Hopps, then he'll understand if Wilde had more pressing matters to attend to. I also would like to hear why Weaselton is considered a type of 'informant' for you, Wilde. If your info about him makes him a legitimate lead on this case, then you two splitting up to each talk to one makes a lot of sense here."

It was Nick's turn to smirk as the Chief took his side in their argument, "Well, Weaselton isn't just a bootlegger or conmammal, he's worked for almost every single crime lord in this city doing various jobs such as couriering money, pickpocketing, gathering information, etcetera, etcetera. If any animal, who isn't actually affiliated with any one crime gang, knows the different relationships between the crime families, it would be Weaselton. I don't know if he'll help us, but it's no harm to ask."

Bogo nodded, "Yes, that's very true, Wilde. When we get back to the Precinct, Hopps, you will take unmarked car Alpha-Dash-Zero-Zero-One to the meeting place with Mr. Big and gather intel from him. Wilde, you will take unmarked car Alpha-Dash-Zero-Zero-Two to wherever you think you can find Weaselton. Understood?"

Both gave a 'Yes, sir!' to the buffalo, Judy's being much more grumbled than Nick's. The group then stayed silent for a minute or so before Judy's curiosity got the better of her, "Chief, both you and Nick have talked about there being all these gangs and crime families in the city. Would you, please, explain these...groups to me?"

Bogo sighed, "I thought they would have taught you this at the academy. Wilde, do you think you can handle this?"

"Sure thing, Chief.", he then directed his words at his partner, "Alright, Carrots, I'm gonna give you the quick basics of the city's crime lords. Please leave all questions until the end of the show, thank you. The crime lord with the most power is centralized in Savannah Central and a little bit in the Downtown District. His name is Jeffery Haftohn, a grizzly bear that is cruel, serious, and all about business. He owns a semi-legitimate financial help agency, but leads a couple other not-so-legal operations on the side. The next most powerful is Gary Tusk, a boar with a hot head and psychotic mentality. He runs his 'Tusk Gang' out of Happy Town. Next on the list is Harrison Fangs, the crime lord of the Rainforest District. He's a Bengal tiger who is known for being the kindest of all the crime lords, but he still does what he has to do to keep his operations running. Fourth on our list is Mr. Big. You know enough about him so moving on to number five. His name is Borris Quiss, a raccoon. Him and his "Bandits" basically have almost all control over the Nocturnal District through their thieves guild and Quiss' cunning strategies. Number six is James Diablo, a Tasmanian Devil who runs the Outback Island gang. We move on to our seventh crime lord, or lady in this case, with Melody Woolsworth. She's an Ewe who runs a prey supremacist gang in the Meadowlands. She has gained a lot more support and power since Bellwether's scheme. Finally, we have Lesley Richards, a camel who runs the "Sand Gang" in Sahara Square. He has the least influence and power, but is still plenty dangerous if he's in a bad mood. And with that, you have all the city's crime lords and crime lady."

Judy raised her hand slowly and asked a question when Nick gestured for her to do so, "You said every district has a crime lord, so what about the Canal District?"

Nick's smirk morphed into a look of terrified remembrance. Judy was worried he was going to stay that way until he spoke to the Chief, barely moving his mouth as he did so, "Chief, I'm gonna need you to take this one."

Bogo gave him an understanding glance before picking up where he left off, "The Canal District is the gang we have the least information on. The entire gang is like a ghost in a thick fog; and anytime we caught a member of the gang, they died before we could ask any questions. All we know is that the leader is a platypus that goes by the alias, Dr. Bill, and that he is merciless and enjoys torturing animals for his own psychological experiments. I don't think you'll have to worry about him, though. He wouldn't risk his secrecy and seclusion by doing something this extraordinary."

Judy leaned back into the seat, processing everything she had just learned. She had known that there were at least few crime families in Zootopia, but she was surprised to learn that there was one in every district, even the Downtown District. Her city was in more disarray than she had thought. Then there was her partner. She had never seen fear on his face before, at least not to that degree. Nick wasn't afraid of anything to her knowledge, but when he had thought about the gang in the Canal District all she could see on his face was terror. It was so unlike him that she was having trouble comprehending what could cause him to react in that way. She would have to find out later since they were pulling into the parking garage of Precinct One.

Bogo pulled into a parking spot reserved for the Chief's cruiser, shut off the vehicle, and turned to face Nick and Judy, "Howler and Oaks finished their shifts already and went home, so both cruisers the two of you were using this morning are available. I would like to see both of you back at this Precinct by no later than nine o'clock tonight. If you think you might be late, give me a call to let me know when you think you'll get back. If I don't hear from you and you are late, I will be sending officers to find you. Good luck."

The buffalo then exited his vehicle and headed into the main building, leaving the rabbit and fox behind. They turned to each other, each exchanging wishes of luck and telling the other to stay safe before Nick headed to the cruiser he was assigned during the morning shift and Judy into the building to get her phone. By the time she arrived back to the garage, Nick was gone and she was left to take a very quiet and lonely drive to Tundratown.

* * *

Saying that Nick was nervous about his plan would have been a major understatement. He had no idea if he would be able to even find Weaselton, not to mention get him to help the ZPD. He knew where he might be able to find him, but he would still have to hope Weaselton hadn't changed the bar he goes to every evening. If he had, then Nick's plan would be a bust and he would have to go back to the Precinct and fill out paperwork until Judy returned; and he hated paperwork. Flicking on his blinker, he turned onto Sprauge Avenue and headed towards Happy Town for the second time that day. Driving down the barely-lit streets, memories came flooding back. Glimpses of crowds of animals, flashes of red, and grotesque images of animals scattered with bullet holes took over his thoughts. Sensing that he was starting to hyperventilate, he quickly took a few deep breaths and refocused on what he was going to say to the weasel.

Nearing his destination, Nick pulled the cruiser over to a dark alleyway and shut off the headlights. Glad he had put street clothes in his bag before leaving his apartment that morning, the fox changed into a pair of jeans and a large black sweatshirt. Hiding his tazer in his back pocket and pulling the hood over his ears, Nick started walking the last block to the bar. If anyone in the bar saw a police cruiser outside or an officer enter, the place would clear out quickly and quietly and he would never find Weaselton. Nick brought back the days of him being a shifty fox and stalked into the building, reading the red neon sign on his way in: Shady Maple Tavern.

The entire place was packed with animals of all shapes, sizes, and species. Shady Maple has always been one of the most popular bars not only in Happy Town, but in all of Zootopia. Especially for those whom no other bar would serve to, such as weasels, reptiles, foxes, and other disliked or untrusted species. Nick casually made his way over to the bar and hopped up on a barstool. He discreetly looked around the building as he did so, looking for Weaselton and any customers who might cause him trouble. Seeing neither at the time, he turned to the bartender and asked for a glass of water. He received a strange look from the bartender, a ring-tailed lemur, but he said nothing to the fox as he grabbed the glass and filled it with tapwater and ice. Nick thanked the primate and continued to scan the area as he sipped on his water. After half an hour of not seeing Weaselton, he figured he may as well ask the bartender.

The lemur scoffed at the question, "That bag of fleas? He got into some trouble and he's talking to the manager out back."

Nick slid off the barstool, heading for the back door. The lemur was yelling at him to stop or he was going to be in more trouble than the weasel, but Nick knew what "talks out back" meant and he needed to get outside before Weaselton was hurt or worse. The fox threw the back door open and stepped into the brisk air, quickly analyzing the situation in front of him. Weaselton was being held by two hyenas while a jaguar in front of him was pointing a gun at his chest. Behind the jaguar was a huge red fox that was at least one and a half times Nick's size. He recognized the jaguar instantly and growled in disgust. This drew the attention of all five predators, but none of them recognized him due to his hood still being up. Nick decided he might as well say something since they all knew he was there, "Let the weasel go, Julio."

The jaguar laughed, "What makes you think you can order me around, pelt? You obviously know who I am so you must know what happens to those who interrupt my business."

"Normally they die. But that's not going to happen to me."

The cat laughed even harder at the response, the hyenas joining in with their own cackles, "Who do you think you are that makes you immune to my authority here?"

Nick pulled up the sleeve of the sweatshirt, revealing a branding of a large flame, and stepped into the light. This caused the jaguar to react quite spectacularly, "No, you can't be him. He's gone. Who the hell are you!?"

Nick slowly walked forward, "You won't recognize my actual name, but you will recognize the name, Wildfire, right? And that whole story about me dying, yeah I made that up just to get out of this trash pit of a district. Now I'm going to say this one more time, let the weasel go."

The jaguar struggled for words before finally stuttering a response, "I-if y-you are the r-real d-deal, then p-prove it. T-take on my b-boy, Roco, h-here r-right n-now."

Nick shrugged, "I don't have a gun to use."

"The legendary Wildfire is without a gun? For shame.", Julio smiled, gaining confidence at the fox's lack of a weapon. He tossed Nick the pistol he was holding, which the fox easily caught, "You can use this one. You know the rules, right?"

Nick put on a smirk, but continued to keep his face concealed, before giving his response, "Start back-to-back, take ten steps out while keeping the gun at my hip, turn after the ten steps and shoot, whoever is still standing or doesn't surrender wins."

The jaguar growled as Roco, one of the hyenas, and Nick met in the center of the wide alleyway back-to-back. They took steps forward in sync. One. Two. Three. Nick relaxed his arm muscles, tapping the gun against his thigh. Four. Five. Six. Nick breathed deeply and slowly, emptying his mind of any distractions. Seven. Eight. Nine. Nick closed his eyes, listening to the hyena's motions. The hyena was already starting to turn as the fox took the last step forward. Ten. Quick as a bolt of lightening, Nick spun and fired true. Roco had the advantage of turning before the last step, but Nick had still fired before the hyena had gotten his gun halfway up, shooting the gun straight out of Roco's paw. The fox then fired another shot between his opponent's feet, startling him enough to knock him off his feet to the ground.

Leaving his pistol raised and ready, he directed his words at the jaguar, "Now you believe it's me, Julio? Or would you like another demonstration?"

Seeing the jaguar shaking his head quickly, he replaced his serious tone with his smirk and more relaxed voice again, "Good! Now I'll trade you your gun for the weasel. Deal?"

* * *

Julio told the other hyena to let go of Weaselton, so he did so by shoving the weasel to the ground between himself and Nick. Nick threw the gun back to Julio, and the group made their ways back into the bar, not wanting anymore trouble from the sharpshooting canine. Weaselton picked himself up, but he was still baffled by what he had just seen. This fox had just proven to be an expert in back alley gun dueling and had just saved his life. For what reason, the weasel had no idea, but he was grateful anyways. He was shaken out of his stupor by the fox's harsh voice.

"Uh, what was that? I wasn't quite listening."

Nick was tired of the hood and pulled it down, revealing his identity to the weasel, who's eyes had become wider now than when there was a gun held to his head. The fox rolled his eyes and gestured for Weaselton to follow him as he walked back out to the road. The weasel hesitated at first, but ended up following Nick since he figured there was no harm talking to the mammal who had just saved his life. The fox led him down the road a ways to another alleyway. Seeing a police car, the weasel began thinking of ways to escape the fox when said fox's voice interrupted his thoughts, "Please don't run. I don't have the time or energy to chase you down and I need to talk to you. It's extremely important if we are to keep this city, or at least part of it, from turning upside down."

The police were asking him, a criminal and petty thief, for help. It must be some sort of joke. The ZPD hated him, so why would they go to him for help. Thinking the fox was trying to hustle him, he began chuckling. That is, until the grim look on the officer's face told him otherwise. "What do ya want from me Wilde?"

The fox looked around, checking both ways and sides of the street before speaking, "I know you are involved with many different crime families in doing different smaller jobs and crimes for them. Well, one of Tusk's main drug dealers, an antelope, was killed this morning with the signs of an assassin marking his death. We need to know if Tusk has any enemies with the money and power to hire an assassin to do this. Have you ever seen or heard anything that would give us a direction to look in?"

The weasel thought for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak, but closed abruptly and shook his head, "If I tell ya anything, will the coppers make sure I ain't killed?"

Nick gave a firm nod, so Weaselton thought some more before giving a toothy grin, "And is there anything in it for me? I am running a bit low on cash."

The fox took in a few deep breaths, trying to control the anger building up within himself, "There sure is something in it for you, Weaselton. There's the satisfaction of not having our city put into another situation that has the potential to tear it apart. Would that be good enough for you or should I actually bring you in for questioning and then cuff you for hampering an investigative process?"

The weasel gulped, "Well I guess helping the city would be good enough." He paused for a few moments to gather his memories, then continued, "Tusk has a long list of enemies. Knowing who his enemies are is easy, but narrowing it down is going to be a real pain in the..."

The fox had turned and headed back for his cruiser, so Weaselton had stopped speaking before finishing his sentence. The officer glanced back at him, "Don't worry, I'm listening. Just grabbing a clipboard and paper to write everything down."

* * *

A few seconds later Nick had returned and was rapidly jotting down notes about everything Weaselton could remember about Tusk. Nick knew all of it already, but it was better for him to let the ZPD cite Weaselton as the informant rather than have himself be the informant. Nick tried to stay patient and wait for Weaselton to move along to the information he didn't know, but Weaselton was constantly going on tangents about how he found out about each individual trait of Tusk. He finally snapped, "Enough! Can you just answer the question I first asked you when I dragged you out here? Who would kill one of Tusk's major henchmammals?"

"I'll answer your question, but then you have to answer a question of mine. Will ya do that?"

Weaselton was holding out his paw. Nick shook it and the weasel kept his end of the bargain, "As I told ya earlier, it's a long list, but I can already narrow it down a ton since they would need the power and guts to pull something like this. There's only a pawful I can think of that fit the bill. The least likely option would be Mr. Big, but there is still a deep-down hatred that each have for the other so it's possible. Another would be a drug dealing group in the Canal District. They've always had a big rivalry with Tusk and killing a dealer to boost their own sales would be nothing new for them. In my opinion, though, the animal most likely behind this is Jeffery Haftohn. He and Tusk have disliked each other more and more with each day and it's only been a matter of time before one of them attacked the other. If I was a gambling weasel, which I am, I'd bet my claws on Haftohn."

"Thank you, Weaselton. I promise the ZPD will keep you safe. Would you like a ride back to wherever you're living right now?", Nick said as he put his pen back in his pocket and began to slowly walk backwards towards his cruiser.

"Ah...no. Ya still have to answer my question. What ya did back in that alley with those creeps, how do ya know how to do that? And what's the whole 'Wildfire' nickname about?", Weasleton said, running in between Nick and his cruiser.

The fox sighed, "That's two questions. Which one do you want answered?"

"The first one!"

An even larger sigh escaped him, "Alright, but if you tell anyone this, I will find out. And I think you know what'll happen."

Nick paused, thinking about what he was about to do. He had never shared this with anyone other than Finnick, and he hadn't planned to ever share it with anyone else, not even Judy. Yet here he was, about to tell a part of his dark story to a criminal and an old nemesis. He would leave everything other than the major details out, but it was still a past that he would have rather left in the dark. _Well, here goes nothing_ , "I started conning and hustling when I was twelve and did that for six years. My reputation as a streetsmart and cunning fox gained me an audience with Tusk. He had me do minor jobs and gave me a mentor. This mentor taught me how to use a gun and fire extremely quickly with accuracy. He was involved in a gun duel and was killed. I was so angry that I challenged his killer... and I won. I was just twenty-years-old at the time. After Tusk saw that I had a talent for gun dueling, he entered me in countless competitions. I was told that if I refused or lost he would kill my mother and I. I was known for never missing a shot. I dueled until I was twenty-three, then I started working for Mr. Big. So that is why I am so talented at gun dueling. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

Weaselton respectfully listened to each word carefully, making sure he remembered every bit the fox told him. His answer had only given way to another question, "How did ya get out of the dueling if ya never missed a shot and he threatened to kill your mother if ya lost?"

Nick held up a shaking finger to him, "Ah, ah, ah. I already answered a question. You won't get another. You need a ride or no?"

The weasel shook his head 'no'. Nick shrugged, "Suit yourself. Stop by Precinct One around noon tomorrow and we'll figure out what kind of protection detail you may need. Night."

Nick got in the cruiser, started it up, and began driving back to the Precinct with Weaselton waving a goodbye behind him. He checked the time and saw that it read _8:15 PM_. "Guess I'm not gonna be late. Hope Judy had better luck and less action than me."


	5. Chapter 5: Shadows

**A/N: Hello readers! I apologize for the major delay! I had a pretty crazy week and a serious case of writer's block, but I stuck to my original statement of getting a chapter out every weekend. This chapter is a bit shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't want to extend on too much as it would throw off the flow of future chapters. This chapter does go hand-in-hand/paw-in-paw with last chapter, though! Last chapter was mostly Nick and his contact, this chapter will be mostly what Judy was doing during that same time frame. I hope you all enjoy! Leave a follow/favorite/review if you do!**

 **I own my OC's and that is all.**

 **-Eragon**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5: SHADOWS**

 _ **EVERGREEN LANE, TUNDRATOWN, 6:30 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th**_

Judy missed her chatty fox partner. First, she hadn't been able to patrol with him in the morning. Then, she got a grand total of two hours to be around him, during which he completely left her puzzled as to what was going on with him. Finally, they were split again and she wouldn't be able to see him again until, at the earliest, nine o'clock that night. She had so many questions to ask him and she most likely wouldn't be able to until either that night or the next morning. On the other paw, this gave her time to think about all the new knowledge that she had been kept in the dark from, both with Nick and the ZPD

She knew that Mr. Big couldn't be the only crime boss in Zootopia, but she would have never assumed that there was a crime boss in each and every district. That was unbelievable! She also was still reeling from the way Nick reacted to the mention of Dr. Bill. His reaction was so uncharacteristic and extraordinary that she didn't quite know what to make of it. It had to be something from his past, and she would most certainly pry whatever he was hiding out of him later. For now, her mind kept jumping back to one question for Chief Bogo. If the ZPD knew about all these crime families and gangs and even who was in charge of each, why hadn't they put an end to them by arresting those involved? As much as it would pain her to see Mr. Big and his polar bear bodyguards arrested, she wouldn't try to stop Bogo if he decided to do so. It was their jobs to arrest criminals and keep Zootopia safe, so why weren't they doing just that?

And then there was Nick. First, he had helped, genuinely and sincerely helped her, when she needed it. He had been encouraging and kind and caring and just the best friend she could have hoped for. And he had done it all while still being true to himself and never faking the whole time. Then he had gotten a look in his eyes. A look that made her feel safe and protected. Never before in her life had she seen that look from another animal. She had been at a loss of words at the time and could only stare back at the fox. At that moment a thought popped into her head, _"Maybe he sees me as more than just a friend."_ Her heart raced for a moment at the thought before she shook her head clear of the idea. What was she thinking? He was just being a good friend and partner, and there was nothing more to it. She quickly decided to change her train of thought and focus back on the case.

The case would be tough to solve, but her and Nick had solved tougher. They had a suspect and possible leads to go off of, which was still much more than some cases they had pieced together. She just wished that she wasn't following this lead on her own. Nick knew so much more than she did with the inner workings of the city and would have been better suited to asking questions. But no, he wanted to go ask Weaselton, a criminal and enemy of the ZPD, for help. So now she would have to try and figure out exactly what questions she would need to ask Mr. Big in order for this plan to work. She already had a few ideas of what she needed out of him.

Both her and Nick and the ZPD would need a list of Tusk's enemies and who would be able to pull off a crime like murdering one of his henchmammals. Her and Nick would also need to know what Gary Tusk and his gang is like as well as what his enemies are like in order to get a better read on what they were dealing with. She would also have to try to convince Mr. Big to give away the secrets of crime lords and their recent activities in the last few months. It most certainly would not be the most fun experience for her. Especially since Mr. Big was a good friend who had helped her and Nick in the past.

She pulled into the long driveway leading to Big Manors. Memories rushed back of her and Nick's first "visit" to this place and she giggled at the absurdity of it all at the time. She had been back to this place many times after that, especially after the birth of her goddaughter, and was familiar with the procedures for entering the manor. Driving up to a large gate, she was asked for her name and reason for being at the manor by a polar bear guard. After she said her name and he recognized her, the gate was immediately opened without her even having to answer the second question. She parked off to the side of the driveway a few yards from the front entrance and walked up to the door. Ringing the doorbell, a loud chiming of bells, another polar bear rushed to open the door for her and escort her to Mr. Big's office. The polar bear was silent, which she was thankful for since she was still thinking about how she was going to bring up this touchy topic with the shrew.

Again the bear opened the door for her and she strolled into the office. A chair was already set in front of the desk, but she stood respectfully to wait for Mr. Big. Luckily, it wasn't the same formality as when they had first met, so Mr. Big entered quickly after she had arrived with only one polar bear with him. The huge polar bear she had gotten to know as Koslov sat at the large desk and placed Mr. Big down, who seemed both relieved and pleased to see Judy standing in front of him. Judy did not need to kiss his ring since she was family, and instead received a kiss on each cheek as she stepped forward to greet the shrew.

Judy sat down and Mr. Big began the conversation, "Good evening, Judy. It is so nice to see you safe and sound, though I am not yet blind enough to be oblivious to the fact that you are not unscathed."

"It's nothing, Mr. Big. I'll definitely live through it.", Judy's cheeks flushed as she was reminded of her injury.

"That is very good. It would cause me great pain to see my grandchild lose her godmother before she has even reached her second birthday.", he paused, "Is there anything you need from me, Judy? Money is of no concern and you are family."

Judy took a deep breath. She wouldn't get a better opportunity to bring up the reason she was meeting him. "Actually, Mr. Big, I do need your help with a case I've been assigned from the ZPD."

The shrew sighed, "Now, child, I thought we had both agreed we would not become involved in each other's work lives. I do not want to cause trouble for you with the Chief and I cannot risk endangering my own organization."

"I know, I know. And I normally would never make a request like this from you, but the Chief actually asked me to talk to you."

Mr. Big kept his face neutral, but suspicion tainted his voice, "Ah, I see. Well, in that case, what do you need my help with?"

Judy smiled, "Well, it all starts with the antelope that was killed today. He was a main henchmammal for Gary Tusk and we've found some evidence that he may have been killed by an assassin or hired gun, which would mean someone would have to have hired them. Chief Bogo is pretty convinced that this is what happened at least, so I was asked to talk to you about who would and could do this. So, I would like to ask if you could, maybe, help me make a list of who hates Tusk enough and has the money and power to have one of his henchmammals killed...if it's not too...much...trouble..."

Her voice ended at a squeak-like volume as she saw the darkening of the crime boss's face. When he spoke, it was in a much too calm and relaxed tone to accurately portray the expression on his face, "Koslov, gather the rest of my guards in the dining hall and then return here. I must speak with Judy in private for a moment. Do knock before entering again."

The polar bear nodded, stood, and trudged off, leaving through the side door of the office. The shrew resumed speaking to the rabbit in front of him, "Judy, do not be afraid. I am not upset with you. I am fearful for the future. I will give you any information I can if it will help you and not jeopardize myself or my organization. I know of very few who could and would do something of this extravagance. One is a drug-ring in the Canal District. They go by the Sabertooths and are ruthless fiends. The other is Jeffery Haftohn. He and Tusk have had a rivalry and hatred that has only grown the last few months. It is only a matter of time before one attacks the other and today it may have finally happened."

Judy listened intensely to every word from the shrew, typing it all into her recently recovered phone. She asked about Tusk and Haftohn's personalities, which Big answered to her satisfaction. The main point that she gained from the information was that Tusk and Haftohn were both evil, power-hungry, and ruthless animals and the only difference was how they ran things and went about their business. She also learned that Haftohn and his organization had been extraordinarily silent the past few months other than brief screaming matches between himself and Tusk, whereas Tusk was working toward expanding his holdings into the rest of Happy Town and the edge of the Downtown District. All throughout her questions, Big would give her a straightforward, yet detailed, answer that gave her plenty to take back to Bogo and the ZPD.

Judy knew that there was something Mr. Big hadn't yet told her, though. He still had the same dark and worried expression. She spoke in a more comforting tone than her business-like questioning earlier, "Mr. Big, is there something else bothering you?"

The shrew seemed surprised by her question at first, then slowly relaxed into his chair with a sigh, "Raymond and Barry were killed late last night. The reason I called you earlier today is because I wanted to meet with you to talk about their deaths. The police here will not find very much evidence because we have a large amount of it. It was wrong of us to do, but it is a family matter. Yet I have suspicions about what we found. Much of it very obviously points to an assassin in Sahara Square who works for the gang there. Yet, we have a steady relationship with the mammal in charge of that gang and there would be no reason or benefit for him to order the death of two of my most trusted bodyguards. I believe that someone tried to set up the scene to trick us into attacking Lesley Richards and his gang. If this is true, I am concerned the same may have happened today with the antelope."

Judy could only stare in shock. Mr. Big had stolen evidence, a major felony that was most certainly hampering the investigation of the murders. Then, he had questioned every piece of evidence and theory they had by saying that someone could be framing other crime bosses to stress tensions. It was illogical and pure speculation, and she should have immediately dismissed it, but she wavered in her disbelief. If a crime lord, one who had seen just about everything, was so sure of this, she had to at least keep the idea in the back of her mind. Whether or not she liked it. But she still couldn't just let the fact that he had taken evidence go, "Mr. Big, I know that you don't run your organization under the most...legal...methods, but you can't just go around taking evidence for a double homicide case! If you had left the evidence, it's possible that Precinct Three would have already caught the animal responsible! I understand that it's family, but please, never do something like this again. I don't want to see you arrested or worse, be ordered to arrest you myself. Please just let the police do their jobs."

For the first time since her first meeting with the crime lord, she saw shame pass over his features, "I know this, child. I am truly sorry. I am working on changing and running things in a more legal manner, but I am still a crime boss and slip into old habits. I'll have one of my mammals anonymously drop the evidence we found off at the station tomorrow and I will do my best to let the ZPD do their jobs from now on. But I still believe there is something more going on here. Will you at least try to look into this for me Judy?"

"I will keep it in the back of my mind and talk to the Chief about it, but that is it. You are going based off pure speculation and that doesn't hold up well against hard facts."

"I understand. Is that all you need from me?"

"Yes, Mr. Big. Thank you so much for helping me with this case. I'll try to come back soon for an actual visit. And I won't bring work with me!", she beamed at the shrew, "Plus, I would love to see Fru Fru and little Judy muzzle-to-muzzle!"

Mr. Big nodded, "Yes, that would be very pleasant. Especially if you bring Nicky along. It was a shame that he was not with you today."

The shrew had confused and surprised her yet again, "I'll make sure of it. I didn't know you liked Nick that much."

"He is clever and witty. Makes for a fun and interesting conversation. And good company. I also enjoy seeing how you two act around each other.", he gave her a subtle wink as her cheeks and ears slowly became tinted a faded pink.

Before Judy could deny what Mr. Big was implying, there was a knock on the side door. Mr. Big yelled to the bear, "Ah, one moment, Koslov."

The shrew turned his attention back to the rabbit seated in front of him, "It has been a pleasure, Judy. I will look forward to speaking with you again. Kevin!"

Another polar bear entered the main doors. "Please escort Miss Hopps back to her vehicle."

Judy stood, "Thank you for the help, Mr. Big."

She received another set of kisses on each cheek in farewell, then was escorted out by Kevin. The entire trek back, both were silent. Again, Judy was thankful for the silence, as she was still processing the meeting with Mr. Big. Especially the end. Did her and Nick truly act that way around each other? No, it must have just been a misunderstanding. Her and Nick were just friends. _But you want to be more than just friends._ She shook her head harshly, slightly startling the bear walking beside her. Giving him a reassuring smile, she pushed that last thought out of her mind. They were and would be just friends and partners, nothing more. _Keep telling yourself that, Judy._

Thankfully, she arrived outside soon after her inner confliction and rushed over to her car. She thanked Kevin as she did so, who gave her a nod. Judy hopped into the driver's seat and started up the cruiser before quickly driving off down the driveway. The polar bear turned and closed the double doors as he saw her turn off the drive and onto the main road. Still partially lost in thought, even though she was trying to focus entirely on the road, her eyes looked at the clock: 8:30 PM. She needed to call Bogo in case she was a bit late. As she dialed his office number her thoughts turned one last time to her partner, _I hope he's safe._

* * *

 ** _ZPD PRECINCT TWO HEADQUARTERS, SAHARA SQUARE, 6:30 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th_**

Victor Clawson had always hated the Sahara District. He hated the sand. He hated how bright it was. He hated the heat. He hated this district. And yet, he was here, forced to be in this forsaken district all because he needed to see someone who might be able to help him. Emphasis on 'might'. Trudging through the sand and practically throwing open the door, the wolverine marched over to the front desk, not even bothering to wipe the sand off of his work boots. The Precinct Two HQ had always been a simple building. The building was made of plain concrete, painted blue and white to signify it as the police station. There were no decorations within the building, and only a few windows scattered regularly every few yards from each other. The doors were all a bland gray color, with miniature plaques on each signaling what room it was or who's office it was. The building was two stories tall, with all the offices and meeting rooms on the upper floor while the cubicles for officers, the main briefing room, and the forensics department located on the ground floor. The interrogation rooms and holding cells were located in a large basement below his paws.

There was a female zebra behind the red desk, the desk being the only thing in the entire building that actually seemed to stand out. He was glad he arrived when he did as there was no one in the main lobby, which meant the day patrols had already gotten back and were either doing their reports or had left for the day and that the next shift of patrols would have already left. He would still have to hope his 'contact' would be in the building. The zebra gave him a friendly greeting and asked how he was doing that day. Victor wasn't in the mood for chit-chat, "Fine. Listen, I'm Officer Clawson from Precinct Three and I need to speak with Detective Lydia Tang if she is still here. If she asks, it's concerning a case I've been assigned."

Victor's sourness didn't even faze the zebra, "I believe she is still here. I'll give her a call now!"

She rolled her chair over a little ways and picked up the landline phone, dialing a number before rolling back over to her computer. Holding the phone in one hoof, she rapidly typed with the other on the computer. She stopped when the line connected, "Hi, Lydia! I have an Officer Clawson here to speak with you. He said it was concerning a case he's on."

The zebra's smile fell as she heard a response, "Oh. Um, ok, I'll tell him."

She rolled back to where she had gotten the phone and hung up before turning back to Victor, "Well, she is in the middle of some large reports at the moment. She wouldn't be available for at least an hour or so."

The wolverine sighed, "Yes, I figured as much, I'll wait in the lobby then. Those chairs look comfy enough to at least take a quick power nap."

* * *

 ** _8:30 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th_**

Now he was pissed. He had taken an hour-long nap and still he had been sitting in this awfully uncomfortable chair for just under an hour. He would give her five more minutes and then he was just going to leave. If she was so stuck up that she wouldn't even talk to him about a case, then that was her problem. The constant worried glances from the zebra didn't help his mood. It wasn't his fault that he had now had to wait for two hours because of his contact's attitude. That was it, he was going home and would talk to Chief Gallant about what happened in the morning. As he stood up to leave, there she was. Detective Lydia Tang was an ocelot with mainly orange fur and black squiggly lines and dots scattered all over. She was wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt with the white and bolded letters 'ZPD' across the front. She also carried an air of elegance that made many animals feel they were a disgrace just by being in her presence.

Victor felt none of this as his anger and frustration finally boiled over, "I have been sitting here for TWO HOURS! You couldn't stop for one moment just so I could ask for your help on a case?!"

Lydia walked to him, locking her blue eyes on his reddish-pink ones, "You were the one who promised that we would no longer speak to each other. I tried to help you hold up that promise, but I guess you had to break that one anyways, just like the rest."

The words stung, but Victor didn't care. He had a job to do and he didn't have the patience to deal with this, "Yeah, well, that's what happens when you're investigating a murder case and need help. You ask for help. Now are you going to help me or not?"

The ocelot glared daggers at him, "What could the great Officer Clawson possibly need help with?"

"Alright, that's it! Stop acting like your five! I'm dealing with a double homicide from late last night of two members of Big's gang in Tundratown as well as-"

"No! I am not dealing with this again", Lydia interrupted, "I am not getting involved with your obsession with the Big Family!"

Victor growled, "Let me finish. I have the double homicide, and there was another homicide of a member of the Tusk Gang this morning. The timing of this just seems way too close to be mere coincidence. I have three days to find some sort of evidence connecting the two or Chief Gallant is going to write my idea off. You are an expert in organized crime and you may be the only person who can help me find evidence to bring to Gallant. Will you help me?"

A look of pity focused on him, "Lucky for you, I just solved the case I was assigned to. I may be able to give you three days. Stay here, I'll check with Chief Silvers."

And as quick as she had appeared, she was gone, heading for the elevators up to the next floor. Victor, with zero enthusiasm, sunk back into a chair to, again, wait for the ocelot. He only had to wait about fifteen minutes before the elevator dinged, signaling him that she had returned. She briskly walked back over to the wolverine, "Chief Silvers said I can help you for the three days that you have to find evidence. No more. We'll start in the morning. You definitely need some sleep, Vic, you look horrible."

Victor tensed up, "Yes, that's a good idea. Meet at Precinct Three at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning. Good?"

"Yep, sounds fine to me. But do you even know what we are looking for?", Lydia asked doubtfully.

"I have a few ideas.", the albino mammal spun and headed for the doors and the wretched sand that waited outside. He paused at the door, "And by the way, don't call me Vic. You don't deserve that right anymore. Night, Detective Tang."

With that he threw the door open again and trudged through the sand in the dark to his car. He started the old-fashioned police car up and drove back to his apartment in Tundratown, muttering curses at himself the entire way back.


	6. Chapter 6: Truth

**A/N: I cannot apologize enough for this delay! Last week was a really tough week and I just couldn't keep up with my writing. I will do my best to not let it happen again, but sometimes life gets in the way. Anyways, I'm still looking for OC's/Cover Art if people are interested. With that over with and me done apologizing for now, on with the show!(read, chapter, whatever) Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy!**

 **Zootopia is owned by Disney. I only own my plot and OC's. :'(**

 **-Eragon**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6: TRUTH**

 ** _ZPD PRECINCT ONE HEADQUARTERS, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, 9:15 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th_**

Nick had been waiting for half an hour for his partner to get back to the Precinct. He would have been worried, but the Chief had told him that she had already called him to say she would be about fifteen minutes late. Normally, Nick would have just given his report to Bogo and then left for home, but the Chief had decided he wanted to hear their reports at the same time to avoid repetition of information and make it easier to document everything. So Nick was now sitting alone in his cubicle, catching up on reports from earlier in the week. The Precinct was almost completely empty due to the evening shift of patrol officers having already left to do their rounds. Even Clawhauser had gone home, replaced by a ram named Nick Woolery. Nick Wilde had attempted to avoid doing paperwork by starting a conversation with the ram by making a witty comment about their shared first names, but the fox had received the cold shoulder as Woolery continued to just type into the computer.

So now here he sat. Waiting for his partner and bored out of his mind as he filled out forms on one of the cubicle's two computers. Suddenly, he could smell his partner. He could tell she was trying to sneak up on him based on her silence and how slowly she was nearing him. When she was directly behind him, he spun his chair around, "Well, howdy there, Carrots!"

Judy flew backward in surprise, gripping her chest with her paw as she tried to catch her breath, "Nick! Don't scare me like that!"

"So you are saying you weren't trying to sneak up on me and probably trying to scare me?", Nick asked, smirk firmly placed upon his face.

"Well, maybe...", Judy shrugged before replacing her kit-like atmosphere with her work tone, "Let's go talk to the Chief. I want to get all this information gathering dealt reported and go home. I am exhausted!"

Nick stood and walked behind her as they made their way up to the Chief's office, "Well that makes two of us, Carrots. How's the ear been holding up? It looks like the bandages are still in good condition."

"It's been tough since every time that I perk my ears up to listen to something, I get a spike of pain in that ear, but otherwise it's been holding up really well. A bit sore, but nothing I can't deal with. And yes, the bandages have stayed in relatively good condition. I'll probably change them before I go to bed tonight and then again before work tomorrow.", she replied before stopping at the Chief's door and knocking twice.

Chief Bogo's gruff voice responded immediately, ordering them to enter. Judy hopped up and spun the door handle while Nick pushed the door open, a maneuver they had done many times due to their small size. The water buffalo gestured for them to sit as they walked in and they did so. Bogo opened a drawer and pulled out a voice recorder along with paper for him to write notes on. He slowly set his gaze on the duo, "Let's hear it. What did you two find?"

Nick decided to start. He told the Chief the same things Weaselton had told him. He spoke about all the personality traits and the basics of where Tusk has centered his control in Happy Town. Also, the fox told Bogo about Tusk's three main rivals and enemies; Mr. Big, a drug ring in the Canal District, and Haftohn. Finalizing his gathered intelligence, he ended with how Weaselton assumed that Haftohn would be behind the murder based on the present relations of the two crime lords. Nick decided to leave out the details of his little fight to save Weaselton's hide.

Bogo rapidly wrote down any major detail that Nick stated before glancing up to him, "Is that all Wilde?"

"Yes, sir."

Bogo turned to Hopps and the bunny spewed information almost faster than that the Chief could keep up with. Luckily for Bogo, he had the recording to go back through and catch anything he missed. Judy mostly restated much of what Nick had just said, but with some additions. For one, she gave a name to the drug ring, who were called the Sabertooths. Also, the recent movements of both Tusk and Haftohn were revealed, showing mostly content and patience from Haftohn while Tusk displayed rampant ambition and rapid expansion from where he normally would control. This was scary for the buffalo to hear, for if a gang was deciding now to cause problems, it would mean much more danger for his officers.

The bunny had finished speaking for almost a minute before Bogo realized he still needed to dismiss them. He raised his hand to do so when Judy spoke up, "Chief, this has been bothering me and I need to ask you this. If the ZPD knows about all these gangs, why haven't we done anything to stop them or put them behind bars?"

The buffalo sighed deeply. He had been waiting for this question, but that didn't mean he was ready to answer it. How could he explain to her the agreement the ZPD had made without destroying her faith in him and this city? The ZPD couldn't lose a cop like her, especially during times like these.

"Hopps, this is going to be tough for me to say and you may not see me the same way afterwards, but you deserve to know." He looked to Nick as well, "Both of you. Although, you may already know based on your past, Wilde. Zootopia was founded when clans joined together in a peace agreement, but there have always been bumps along the way. Groups that would kill out of hate or kick others out of town to gain power. It's how the city has always been. When the ZPD was first created, the leaders of the organization tried to fight these groups, but it only led to more fighting and bloodshed on both sides. One day, about seventy-five years ago, the leaders of the crime families at that time and the three precinct chiefs of the ZPD at the time had a meeting. It was declared that, as long as the crime families dealt with their members who were causing major disturbances, kept their problems to themselves, didn't interact with the ZPD, and didn't cause harm to the ZPD or any other innocent animals, the ZPD would refrain from fully persecuting any of the crime families. It is a rule that has kept crime levels low to the public eye and has stopped the crime families from killing officers except for a few extreme exceptions. I'm sorry, Hopps."

Judy didn't know how to respond. Not only her Chief, but the entire ZPD was just letting gangs roam the city freely with no real consequences. All of her life, she had wanted to make the world and this city a better place, yet how could she do that if she was supposed to not take down major criminals purely because it was against the "secret rules" of the ZPD. She would never be able to truly be happy with her job if she couldn't do it to the fullest extent. She glanced down at her badge: _Integrity, Trust, Bravery_. As her glance turned into a stare, a paw rested upon her shoulder. Her eyes moved up to see Nick with the same worried expression as at the hospital.

"Carrots, are you alright?"

She looked back down at her badge, "I just found out that everything the ZPD, and I, stand for is a lie. Everything's just peachy."

This is what Bogo had been nervous of. "Hopps, it's not like that. We still put criminals behind bars and keep this city safe. We don't actively go after the gangs because it will cause more danger for this city and civilians than if we just keep it contained. I wish I could say that the ZPD works to put all criminals away, but that just isn't how this city works."

The bunny glared daggers at the buffalo, "Chief, I joined the ZPD to make the world a better place. I cannot do that under this rule. I will finish this case, and then I will be resigning from my position as an officer."

"Hopps, I do hope you reconsider. We need cops like you. You are dismissed. I'd like to have a word alone with Officer Wilde."

Bogo stood and walked over to the door as he said this. Judy saluted him and left as he opened the door for her, before closing it, returning to his desk, and sitting back down heavily. With a groan he dropped his giant head into his hooves. "What do I do, Wilde? I can't lose an officer like her. She has been such a blessing to the force."

Part of Nick was proud of Judy for standing up to the Chief and for what she believed in, but a larger part was distraught. He wouldn't even be an officer if it wasn't for that bunny. He couldn't imagine being an officer without her as his partner. Nick wanted to be angry at the Chief for driving his partner away like this, but that would have been unfair to the poor buffalo. Bogo was merely following the code the chief before him had given him to use. He couldn't just go back on everything he was taught to do his entire time with the ZPD. Nick didn't know if it was because Judy was involved or if it was the uncharacteristically sorrow mannerisms of the Chief, but the fox felt an unnatural urge to help solve this problem.

"Let me talk to her, Chief. I might be able to get her to change her mind. She can be pretty rash and this might be one of those times."

The buffalo used one hoof to wave him away, dismissing him, while keeping his head down on his other hoof. Nick saluted and marched over to the door, doing a little jump to get the handle spun and opening the door. As Nick was about to walk out, he heard the Chief's voice one last time. "And Wilde, I'm sorry about snapping at you and Hopps this morning. You two spoke out of turn and out of your authority, but I was a bit harsher than I should have been. Let Hopps know as well if you get the chance."

"Will do, sir." Nick closed the door behind him and began the search for his partner.

* * *

 ** _ZPD PRECINCT NINE HEADQUARTERS, HAPPY TOWN, 10:02 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th_**

Colleen Collins had one of, if not the, toughest job in all of the Zootopia Police Department. She was the Chief of Precinct Nine, the Happy Town District. This meant dealing with the highest crime rates of any district, the most aggressive crime gang, and predator supremacists all on a near daily basis. Today had been one of the more stressful days for her. First, Precinct One officers had gone and gotten into a gunfight with two wolves from the Tusk Gang, which made her and her officers look _fantastic_. Then, she had to deal with a bank robbery on the opposite side of the District. And the mammal who pulled it off got away too, with one hundred thousand dollars. So she had two detectives and four officers working on that now. To top it all off, she was now stuck here late overseeing the interrogation of the previously stated wolves.

As the hyena chief gazed blankly through the one-way window, watching her officer, a hippo named Jerry Riggson, question the white wolf. They had discovered nothing from him other than his codename, "Ghost", but she had a feeling that the grey wolf would be much more easy to get information out of. He had been jittery and skittish since he had been escorted into the Precinct. As the white wolf seemingly deflected another of Riggson's questions, Chief Collins felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She pulled the phone out and saw that she was getting a call; her eyes narrowed at the number.

She tapped the answer button and held it up to her ear, "What do _you_ want?"

"Ah, nice to hear your voice as well, _Chief_. You see, I have a bit of a problem." The caller was none other than Gary Tusk himself.

"Well isn't that just too bad." Collins snarled back, "I guess you'll just have to deal with it."

The boar chuckled, "Which is exactly what I'm doing! Those two wolves that you happen to be interrogating right now, I need them. As in now."

"And what makes you think I'll just hand them over to you?"

"Well, if you don't want every single one of your officers in the Precinct dead by morning, I suggest you let them go. And don't think I'm bluffing, because you know better than anyone that I most certainly am not."

The hyena growled into the phone. "Fine! You'll get your puppy dogs back! But if I ever have them in my custody again, don't expect this to happen twice."

Tusk merely laughed at the threat, "Whatever you say, _Chief_. Just give me my wolves back. You can release them right outside the Precinct, they'll know where to go from there."

Collins hung up on the crime boss before storming into the interrogation room and stopping Riggson. She hurriedly explained the situation, getting a knowing nod from her officer before he uncuffed the white wolf and walked over to the grey wolf's room. The hyena and hippo then marched the two to the doors and shoved them outside none too gently. The two canines looked around before smiling at each other and sprinting off down the street and away from the Precinct. Chief Collins could only watch as a major lead in the homicide case over in Precinct One ran off into the moonlight and she could do nothing to stop it. _"I need a drink"_ , was the only thought that could pass through her mind at that moment.

* * *

 ** _ZPD PRECINCT ONE HEADQUARTERS, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, 10:10 PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 18th_**

It had taken Nick some time, but he had finally found Judy hiding under her desk in the cubicle. Her knees were up against her chest and she had her head buried under her arms as she squeezed to the far back wall. The only reason he had seen her was because she hadn't covered her injured ear for fear of causing unnecessary pain to the wound, and the white bandages contrasted quite comically with the rest of her. Nick pushed her rolling chair aside so he could kneel down and get to eye level. "Carrots, you want to talk?"

He initially got no response and was about to crawl under the desk next to her when she spoke up suddenly. "Did you know?"

"What?"

She brought her head up; tears had stained her cheeks, "Did you know that the ZPD had a deal with the crime families?"

The fox closed his eyes, grimacing. "Yes."

Judy burst forward in an instant, yanking his tie so that she was staring directly into his eyes. "Then why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't want this to happen, Carrots. I didn't want you to lose faith in the ZPD and risk you quitting." Nick looked down, ashamed, "I thought if I could keep it from you, then I wouldn't have to worry about you being disappointed in me or about losing you as a partner."

"That isn't a good reason, Slick. This isn't something you just get to hide and hope I never find out about. This changes everything I have ever believed in about the ZPD. I can not and will not be part of an organization that makes deals with gangs. It's corrupt and just not right."

Nick gave her a suspicious look, "But what about Mr. Big?"

Judy chuckled awkwardly before replying, "That's...different. He's a friend and basically family. You know that. And besides, if Bogo decided that we had to take down Mr. Big, I wouldn't stop him. I would do my job."

She was too set on this 'do what is right at all costs' mindset. Nick had to find a way to snap her out of it if he had any hope of keeping his partner. Then, there was a lightbulb. "Carrots, do you know how bloody and dangerous going after a crime family is?"

When she didn't respond after a few moments he continued, "The last time I remember anything remotely similar happening was about eight years ago. There was a drug ring selling some absolutely nasty stuff they called Mukogil. It was insanely addictive and the acids of it ate away at your vital organs. The ZPD sent in the SWAT to bring the leaders down. They did it, but thirteen officers and thirty-three members of the drug ring died that day. Now imagine what kind of death toll there would be if the ZPD tried to take down not just a drug ring, but an entire crime organization. That's why the deal is in place, Carrots. To keep ZPD officers, members of the crime families, and, most importantly, the citizens safe."

Judy released his tie and so the fox leaned back and waited while she mulled over his words. Many expressions danced across her face. Anger, sadness, realization, confusion, guilt, more anger, and finally, understanding. When she looked back up to her partner, he could see he had gotten to her with his words. "Ok, Nick. I don't agree with it or think it is what the ZPD should be standing for, but I understand why the deal is in place. Part of me still believes that I can't work here if that's what "integrity, trust, and bravery" means here. For now, I'm letting my promise of resignation stand. But I'll think it over. You've given me a lot to think about."

"That's all I ask, Carrots. Thank you for listening and thinking it over."

She smirked at him, "Plus, who knows, I might not be able to leave a certain fox partner behind without someone to keep him in line."

"Oh, har har, Carrots. You are just-" He was interrupted by the bunny giving him a hug, "-hilarious. Jeez, Carrots, maybe once in a while you could NOT be all emotional."

Her smirk widened, "Oh, you know you like my hugs."

"Do I know that?" He paused as he placed his paw to his chin in thought, "Yes. Yes, I do."

* * *

 _ **UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, HAPPY TOWN, 1:00 AM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

The wolf brothers, Ghost and Grout, had been back among their gang brothers and sisters for only an hour or so before being summoned by their boss. They had a friendly reunion of whiskey shots and laughs before he told them about his scheme. It was crazy, maniacal, and probably impossible. The brothers loved it. Especially since they would be in charge of one of the three main groups.

Tusk wanted to attack Haftohn Tower, one of the largest skyscrapers in Zootopia and the main headquarters for Haftohn's crime organization and business. The goal was simple, yet it would require near perfection to be achieved. Tusk would lead a group of about twenty mammals on a ground floor assault, killing as many guards and associates of Haftohn as possible. That would hopefully keep most of the building distracted. Julio Dyador, a black jaguar, would lead about ten mammals and guard the entrance from any backup or cops that arrived. The most important and dangerous job would be up to the brothers.

They would lead a group of fifteen mammals to the top three floors, where Haftohn, his second-in-command, and his brother would be in a meeting with some sort of dealer. No one knew what kind of dealer and frankly, they didn't really care. The wolves would do everything in their power to find this meeting, and kill everyone in it. There was slim to zero chance of pulling it off and the group led by the wolf brothers would probably end up captured, arrested, or dead; but to Ghost and Grout, that was what made it fun.

At the moment, they were in two large black semi trucks on the way to the tower. Ghost had his earbuds in and was listening to classical music, Wolfgang Mozart had always been a personal favorite of his, while Grout was bouncing up and down excitedly like a child. The trucks squealed to a stop and fast as lightening everyone was out of the truck and storming the tower lobby.

Julio's squad took point and made quick work with their suppressed semi-automatic rifles of taking out the two brown bears guarding the door. They then made a large arc around the front door as Tusk's squad charged. The poor animals inside never saw the gangsters coming and Tusk and his mammals massacred the first set of mammals in the lobby before spreading out to clear the entire first floor. No alarm had been triggered, but someone would trigger one soon once the gunfire was heard.

Ghost, who had only now taken out his earbuds, and Grout made their way to the elevators. The lobby was covered in blood. Mammals from otters to giant grizzly bears had been shot countless times, expressions of shock still frozen on their faces. As the group of seventeen squeezed into the three elevators, barely fitting due to one of the group being a rhino, they could still hear screams from Tusk and his squad slaughtering the first floor.

The elevators moved up and up and up over seventy floors before stopping at floor seventy-three. Ghost raised his automatic rifle as the doors opened on an unsuspecting tiger. Before the tiger could utter a word four bullets were put into his chest as the rest of the mammals from the elevators fanned out. Grout ran off leading half of the group to the right while Ghost led the other half left.

Grout carried only his trusty machete with a Glock on his belt for emergencies. He was a living rampage as he ran through the halls, leaving guards incapacitated with stabs and slashes that his small group quickly finished off with a bullet or two as they kept running by. They checked every room and every time nothing but guards. Meeting up with Ghost back where they started, they moved up to floor seventy-four. The same process was done. Ghost was a machine that left many bleeding out or dead from bullets to the head or chest while Grout cut up enemies to the point of wishing they were dead, until someone finished them off.

As they moved up to floor seventy-five they had only lost one mammal. A caracal had gotten a lucky shot off on a rabbit running next to Ghost. Ghost had quickly placed an entire clip into the large cat's body afterwards. As they reached the top floor of the giant building they realized the guards were either much more prepared or there were none. There was no one standing around in the hallways. All was quiet. The wolf brothers again split up. It was time to find Haftohn.

* * *

 **A/N: This is going to be my new thing. I'm going to name people who have helped me in a little credits section at the end here. Kind of just my way of giving thanks to people after each chapter. So here we go.**

 **SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

 **KEFTENSE: For the encouragement and inspiration**

 **14SLEEPYHEAD09: For amazing advice and being a model writer to look up to**

 **MY YOUNGER BROTHER: For pushing me to write this story and for creating the amazing character of Coran Látiz**


	7. Chapter 7: Meeting

**A/N: Hello, wonderful readers! I bring you Chapter 7! Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy! I am still searching for OC's/cover art so let me know if you are interested in either.**

 **-Eragon**

 **Disney owns Zootopia, I own this story and my OC's. That is all.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7: MEETING**

 _ **HAFTOHN TOWER, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, 1:30 AM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

The silence was nearly deafening. The only thing Ghost and Grout could hear was the heavy breathing and footsteps of the mammals under their command as they split up and began searching for their prey. Ghost took the right side, Grout the left.

Ghost took point as his squad turned the first corner and met muzzle to muzzle with an empty hallway similar to the ones on lower floors. The only difference being every office door was wide open. The group stalked slowly up the hallway, two mammals splitting off at each door to check the room. As they passed through the seemingly clear hallway, the last two doors they had just passed erupted in gunfire. Ghost and the remaining two members of his squad turned only to see a deer buck from their group fall out the right door, a collection of bullet holes in his chest.

Ghost signaled for his mammals to get on either side of the hallway and wait. For a two full minutes, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, a canister came flying out of each door and the three mammals took cover behind the walls as smoke enveloped the hallway and what sounded like hundreds of bullets flew past their cover. Ghost gabbed a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the hallway. The explosion had immediate effect as all gunfire stopped and the floor of the hallway collapsed. The white wolf risked a peek around the corner and saw that the any shooter was now either trapped in the room they had ambushed his mammals in or was under the rubble of the collapse due to the floor being gone. He signaled for the remaining squad members to keep moving.

Grout and his six mammals hadn't faired any better. They had walked straight into a barricade of tables blocking a hallway where about ten mammals began firing machine guns down the hallway at them. Luckily, Grout, a rhino, and another wolf had managed to get into a room for cover. The rest of the group wasn't so lucky as they were mowed down by machine guns. The barricade was taken out the same way as Ghost's ambushers, a quick grenade throw down the hallway which had the grenade rolling perfectly under the table at the feet of a black bear. He looked down with wide eyes and barely started to yell a warning before the entire group of ten mammals was engulfed in the explosion and shrapnel.

Neither Ghost nor Grout met with any other resistance and ended up crossing paths again as they reached the side of the floor exactly opposite of the elevators. In front of the remaining six gang members was a humongous office room with a single door marked, _J. HAFTOHN_. The group; consisting of Ghost, Grout, another wolf, a rhino, a fox, and a lion; glanced nervously back and forth at each other. This was it. The time where they would either return to Tusk heroes or die trying.

Ghost stepped forward and slowly opened the door. Again, the entire area was empty and silent. The main room was a large table meant for sitting over twenty animals and the chairs all built for any mammal up to the size of an elephant. There was a door leading to the left which the six also went through, surprisingly sneakily despite the rhino of the party. This door opened up into a penthouse for the grizzly bear crime boss. They had entered into the living room, where two brown couches sat in an "L" shape facing a giant flat-screen TV larger than the wolf brothers put together. They checked the entire bottom level of the penthouse, consisting of Haftohn's kitchen, dining room, a bathroom, and another smaller meeting room along with the living room. All of this to no avail.

They proceeded to yet another staircase, ascending as quickly but stealthily as possible. The upper level contained another bathroom, master bedroom, and guest bedroom. They had checked everywhere except the master bedroom when they heard growling through the door. Ghost and Grout looked at each other before throwing open the door and charging in, Ghost with his gun raised and Grout with his machete drawn. They would have never in their wildest dreams imagined what they had just walked into.

There was no Haftohn. No bear at all, in fact. They walked in to see a Bengal tiger on all fours growling at them with narrowed slit-eyes. All they could see within those eyes was anger and hatred. The tiger pounced before the wolf brothers were even two steps through the doorframe, but they ducked under the leap as the tiger crashed into the lion, tearing at his throat with his teeth and leaving a bloody mess as he looked up and searched for his next target. He locked eyes on the third wolf of the party and charged at him, clawing open his chest and trying to go for the jugular. Before the tiger reached the wolf's throat, however; Ghost put an entire clip into the tiger, killing it nearly instantly.

Ghost looked over at the wolf and saw that there was no saving him, the cut had caused enough blood loss to kill the injured wolf before medical attention would or could arrive and the lion had been dead as soon as the tiger bit his throat. Grout called him over. The grey wolf was staring down at the tiger Ghost had just slain, "Notice anything familiar about this guy, Ghost?"

The white wolf scanned the body over. "Well, I'll be damned. That's Haftohn's second-in-command isn't it?"

Grout nodded. The rhino and fox had begun to search the master bedroom and ended up finding nothing. Haftohn had escaped, along with his brother and that dealer, but the brothers had at least killed an important member of Haftohn's gang. And Tusk would have been happy with just slaughtering mammals in the tower, so anything extra would just make him happier. Ghost and Grout led the last two members of their previously large squad to the elevators and descended downward. They hadn't gotten the bear, but they had made their point clear to Haftohn. This was war.

* * *

 _ **ZPD PRECINCT ONE HEADQUARTERS, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, 7:31 AM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

As soon as Bogo walked into the bullpen, Nick knew something was wrong. The buffalo had his same stoic stature as usual, but there was an unmistakable fire in his eyes. Bogo looked over his group of officers and was silent for a long time as he made eye contact with each one. "Only one item on the docket today, everyone. Haftohn Tower was attacked last night by the Tusk Gang at approximately 2:00 AM. We have confirmed over two-hundred animals dead and at least another hundred or so hospitalized. There are officers from the night shift still there working their tails off to get this contained. With that, we have some changes to patrols and assignments."

The Chief shuffled around some papers and was about to continue when he saw the raised hoof of John McHorn. Bogo pointed his hoof at him and the rhino spoke in a deep, grumbling voice, "Chief, do we have any idea what provoked the attack?"

"No certain answer at this time, but we have a couple leads. Any other questions?" There was no other paws or hooves raised. "Good, let's continue. McHorn, Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato, Wolford, and Snarlof; you'll be taking over for the night shift officers at the tower and keeping everything contained. McHorn, keep everything under control and keep the media away. Webb and Durk, Canal District and Meadowlands. Trunkaby and Pennington, Savannah Central. Yarrow and Mack, Sahara Square and Downtown District. Faren and Castel, Rainforest District. Oaks and Howler, Happy Town. Stay alert, we don't know how stable it is there. Whitefang and Royal, I apologize, but I need you patrolling Tundratown. Hopps and Wilde, my office. Everyone else, you know your assignments. Dismissed!"

The crowd filtered out. Nick and Judy made the long walk up to Bogo's office and sat in the same oversized chairs next to the door. Bogo stomped up the stairs and practically threw open the door, ushering the pair inside. They, not including the Chief, were surprised to find a male albino wolverine and a female ocelot standing in front of the Chief's desk. The buffalo sat at his desk with a loud thump, "Hopps, Wilde, meet Officer Victor Clawson of Precinct Three and Detective Lydia Tang of Precinct Two."

Lydia stepped forward to shake paws with the pair, a slight smile on her muzzle, while Victor gave them only a nod. Both of the duo returned the gestures as everyone took a seat in the four chairs in front of the desk, two of which had been added before Nick and Judy had arrived. Victor spoke up first, "Thank you for having us here, Chief Bogo. This really is a pressing matter at paw."

"Chief, what's happening? Why are they here?", Judy asked curiously.

Bogo sighed, something he had been doing quite often in the past twenty-four hours. "Hopps, I'm afraid the situation had escalated about one hundred-fold. Tusk directly attacked Haftohn's building and killed hundreds of his employees, legal and illegal alike. Haftohn WILL retaliate, and when he does, we will have a gang war on our hands that could destroy this city. With that said, our fellow ZPD members have found something that could help us end this before it gets any worse. If they are right and if we can put the real enemy behind bars before anything gets out of control. Clawson, tell them what you told me."

"Yes, sir. Officers Hopps and Wilde, in less than two days, three major events have taken place all in quick succession. Two polar bears who worked for Mr. Big were killed the night of April seventeenth, an antelope working for Tusk was killed the following morning, and now this attack on Haftohn Tower. We received evidence from an anonymous source last night that the polar bears were killed with the gun and poison of choice of an assassin in Sahara Square. I looked into this all last night and early this morning and found that the assassin has a reliable alibi and that the evidence looked staged. Then, there's the murder of the antelope who worked for Tusk. Had Haftohn ordered his death, why would he hire an assassin and better yet, why wouldn't he have had whoever killed him take the drugs for their own use and sales? The pieces don't seem to add up. I have a theory that there is some other animal behind all this, that there is some animal framing other crime families to provoke war. I don't have any leads or solid evidence to back this up, but I can feel it in my gut that it's true. And I need help. I have two and a half days to bring definite evidence to Chief Gallant so a full investigation can be started, but I don't think Detective Tang and I can do it on our own. Will you help us?"

Nick muttered under his breath, "Freaking chiefs with their stupid deadlines."

He turned to Judy. She had the same determined look in her eyes as when they were working on the Night Howler Case. He gave her an affirmative nod and the bunny turned to Victor, "We're in, but where do we start."

The albino looked at the ocelot beside him, giving one of his rare grins, "I think it's time we got the gang back together."

Lydia's eyes went wide. "Oh, no. We are not doing this."

Victor's grin only grew, "Yes, yes we are."

* * *

 _ **HAPPY TOWN, 8:00 AM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

Oaks and Howler only been driving for ten minutes when they pulled over a hyena for speeding. Luckily, there was no issues. Howler handed him the ticket and everyone went along on their merry way. Oaks was humming his favorite song as he zigged and zagged all over Happy Town in their patrol route. Howler was even more quiet than usual, staring down at the floor rather than at the road like usual. Oaks saw this and decided to take a chance. "So, Howler, why the long face?"

"Just tired, I guess."

The springhare would not be deterred so easily, "Oh, c'mon, you can talk to me. We've been partners for six years now and I've never heard you say more than a sentence about your personal life. What's going on?"

Her face morphed into a grimace as she yelled at him, "I said I'm tired, ok?!"

Zander sighed in defeat and continued scanning the road as pulled over to an alley to set a speed trap for unwary drivers. He then leaned back in his seat, sipping on a coffee he had grabbed from the breakroom before leaving the Precinct. Howler was still staring down at the floor of the vehicle. "Caroline, I'm your partner. I want to help you if I can."

"I know. I'm just thinking about my last partner. Before you." Her face was still contorted into the same grimace as before. "He was a cheetah named Ramirez Koytoa. He always was super strict about all the rules and kept everyone on task. But he also had a fun side to him, a side that made people want to be around him. I was such a trouble-maker back then. Always causing the other officers grief with my tricks and pranks."

She allowed herself a small smile as Oaks said in disbelief, "You? A trouble-maker? With pranks?"

"Yes, me. I ended up getting partnered up with him. He was a great teacher and a great mammal in general. He always put others before him and did what was right. He saved my life more than once and I had the amazing achievement of saving his one time. But I didn't save it when it counted."

Noticing the coyote starting to withdraw back into herself, Zander spoke quickly, "Hey, it's alright. Please tell me. It will help me understand you better and it will make you feel better if you can let this out."

Howler was breathing shakily, "It was an everyday patrol. We got a call saying a red fox was robbing a bank. When we pulled up, I got the brilliant idea of charging in to stop the fox, while Ramirez wanted to wait the mammal out. He was right of course, but I convinced him to help me sneak in. The fox had a lethal firearm. I walked the main room to see the fox pointing a handgun at me. Ramirez..."

Zander heard her start to sob, "Hey, it's okay. You're almost there."

"Ramirez pushed me behind some benches... and the fox... shot him. I managed to tranq him after that, but...but...Ramirez didn't make it. If I had just... just listened to him, he might be alive today!"

The coyote was openly sobbing now, Zander had his paw on her shoulder as he let her have her time. She took deep breaths, ending her sobs and the flow of tears. "That is why I am the way I am. I will do Ramirez proud. I won't let anyone else die because of a mistake that I can stop. No one will die on my watch."

Her eyes glazed over into fierce determination, before returning to her normal, serious look that she always wore. Knowing that the conversation was over, Zander removed his paw from her shoulder and centered his vision on the empty street. He was proud of her; she had never shared anything even remotely close to this with him. It was a large step towards them becoming more functional and cooperative partners. Clearing her throat before doing so, Howler asked Zander a question of her own, "Why did you join the ZPD, Zander?"

Shocked, Zander responded with a question, "Why curious all of a sudden?"

"Well, I gave you one of my stories, I think it's only fair I hear one of yours."

"Fair enough", Zander mumbled before beginning his story jubilantly, "When I was fourteen, I was walking home with my mother from the grocery store. We were living in the Rainforest District at the time, so it wasn't a dangerous place, but it wasn't quite the safest either. This group of weasels, probably around five or six of them, decided to try and mug us for our food and money. They were about to shoot me when two officers, both wolves, tranqued the two weasels holding guns and took down most of the others by force. One escaped, but a large group of the mammals who were going to kill me were put to justice. After that, I made it my life goal to be an officer like those wolves and defend the citizens of Zootopia."

He sighed in remembrance. "It wasn't easy. I only passed in the lower middle of my class and was required to retake the physical exam twice to make sure I was ready to be a full-fledged officer. I got assigned to Precinct Nine since they were trying to get rid of me without officially saying it and luckily got you as a partner. The rest is history as I'm sure you know."

Noticing a small smile starting to display itself on Howler's muzzle, the springhare grinned. The happy moment was quickly ended as a car went flying by at fifty-five miles per hour, twenty over the speed limit of the road. Zander hastily flicked on the lights and siren and they were off. Work waited for no mammal.

* * *

 ** _ZPD PRECINCT FOUR HEADQUARTERS, RAINFOREST DISTRICT, 9:15 AM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th_**

Chester Smith was the usual forensics and computer sciences expert for the Rainforest District's Precinct Four HQ. He had solved many cases through his analysis of crime scenes and through hacking into criminal devices. He didn't know the physical district very well, but he knew every major computer system and could hack into any of them at will if they were under investigation. A valuable asset to the Precinct Four police, they had managed to keep him for four years now since his transfer over from Tundratown. He had wanted to transfer over after he had proven to be amazing on the forensics team and told Chief Gallant that he wanted to work back in his home district. He didn't mind getting away from the cold either.

Oh, and there was one thing that made him especially unique. He was a silverback gorilla. He had grown used to the stares over the years. His mother had explained to him when he was younger that it was because their kind was rare to Zootopia. As Chester got older, he realized that his mother wasn't exactly lying, but she hadn't given him the whole truth. They were rare to Zootopia, but that was because their kind was almost extinct. And he was stared at for being a rare sight, but also in fear. No one had ever trusted him, until he joined the ZPD in the forensics department.

After that, his life was changed forever. He had found friends and colleagues who cared about him and trusted him; both in Precinct Three and in Precinct Four. Never before had he been part of a team or had a group of friends, and he loved it. He loved his job. Even the boring things, like typing up reports. The gorilla was doing just that when the phone at his desk began ringing. Placing a smile on his face, he answered in a joyful tone, "Chester Smith of the ZPD Forensics Department, how can I help you?"

"Sounds like you haven't changed a bit, Chester." The voice of Victor Clawson came through the phone with a chuckle.

Chester was beaming ear to ear. He hadn't heard his friend's voice since transferring away from Precinct Three. "Well if it isn't Ol' Vic. What can I do for you, bud?"

"Well I'm investigating a possibly huge case. As big, if not bigger, than the Night Howler Case. I've got two and a half days to provide evidence to Chief Gallant that I have a real case and it's not just my own suspicions playing tricks on me. I could really use a forensics expert to help me out, and you're the only one I want on my team."

Chester's smile grew somehow wider. "Well, lucky for you, I'm finishing up a report and then I have the rest of today and the next two days off. Where and when do you want to meet?"

He heard Victor's muffled voice on the other side before his voice returned, "We're going to meet up at noon for lunch at J&J's Diner in the Downtown District. Think that'll work?"

"Of course. I'll punch out and head over there around then. But, will they cater to...my type?"

"I've been told that this place is one of the few that discriminates against no animal, no matter what. So I would assume yes. If they don't, we can always go to the old hangout."

Confused, the gorilla asked another question, "Who's telling you all this, Vic?"

"Oh, that's right! Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are also on our team to help solve the mystery. Chief Bogo thinks I might be on to something and assigned them to help me out. I'm sure you know of them."

He felt like a small child as he exclaimed, "Of course I know them! I'm a huge fan!"

"Of course you are. Well, I'll see you around then."

"Wait, Vic", Chester interrupted, "Is there anyone else joining the team?"

Victor sighed, "Well, Lydia is already here and-"

"Lydia is there! You two are talking again!"

"Yes, but only because she wants to put the perps away as much as I do and because it doesn't involve Mr. Big."

The gorilla's smile fell, "Okay. It'll be nice to see her again, though. What about Arthur?"

"Don't worry, I'm calling him next."

That cheered up Chester greatly. "I guess the whole gang is getting back together again."

"I sure hope so. See you later, Chester."

"Bye, Vic. Say 'hi' to Lydia, Hopps, and Wilde for me!"

Victor straight out laughed, something Chester hadn't heard in too long. "Don't worry, I will."

 _Click_

The phone call ended. Chester was nearly shaking with excitement. He rapidly typed up the rest of his report before rushing to Chief Latrowski's, a giraffe, office. He couldn't wait to see the whole gang together again. Today was looking up.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, there you have it. Another new face, which I have been REALLY excited to finally introduce, and the (basic) backstories of Howler and Oaks. Hope you enjoyed and leave a follow/favorite/review if you did!**

 **SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

 **KEFTENSE: For the encouragement and inspiration**

 **14SLEEPYHEAD09: For amazing advice and being a model writer to look up to**

 **MY YOUNGER BROTHER: For pushing me to write this story and for creating the amazing character of Coran Látiz**

 **ALL OF MY FOLLOWERS AND READERS: For being the reason I still write and haven't given up**


	8. Chapter 8: The Race Begins

**A/N: Um... hey, readers... I'm back... I apologize for such a long delay. I truly don't have a good excuse other than real life just got in the way for a while. If you have stuck with this story through the delay, thank you so so so so much! You are the reason I didn't just give up on this story. Okay, I'm done with the part that none of you care about so moving on. I'll be throwing another new character at you so I apologize in advance. I know it can be tough to keep up with them, but it is a necessity to have all of them. I am still searching for cover art and/or OC's and/or beta readers so if you are interested, PM me. Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy!**

 **-Eragon**

 **Zootopia is the property of Disney, not me.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8: THE RACE BEGINS**

 _ **J &J's DINER, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, 12:05 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

Chester looked at his phone to make sure he was at the right place. His Zoogle Maps said he was so he glanced around at the other cars parked in the lot. It must have been a popular place since the lot was nearly full with various sized and shaped cars. Chester was unsure of leaving his vehicle until he saw a large police SUV and an extremely old-fashioned police car that he immediately recognized as Vic's. There was no sign of Arthur's car, which left him a bit crestfallen, but that didn't mean his old friend wasn't just running late. Arthur had always had a bad habit of being late to meetings, get-togethers, and pretty much everything. Chester couldn't say too much since he was a bit late himself. He closed the door to his pickup truck and strolled through the door, a bell ringing as he entered.

He kept a smile on his face even as he keenly noticed each and every glance and glare directed his way. To his relief, the giraffe behind the counter didn't give him a sour or fearful look and gave him a cheerful welcome and a smile. It warmed Chester's heart for a stranger to treat him like a fellow mammal and not like some strange beast from another planet. The silverback was about to stand in line behind about four or five other animals when he heard Vic call out to him from a larger table by one of the shop windows. Chester was smiling like he had won the lottery as he walked over to the table, seeing his two heroes seated next to each other on one side of the six-animal table.

The table was meant for mammals up to the size of a bear, so it was a close-fit for Chester, but ended up working out just fine for the gorilla. The seats were height-adjustable, making it so everyone could be at eye-level despite the great size differences. Chester sat at the end while Officers Hopps and Wilde sat on the side to his left, Vic sat at the other end facing him, and Lydia sat to his direct right. Vic and Lydia had clearly left a seat between them purposely. Despite the tension between the wolverine and ocelot, everyone was smiling due to the great atmosphere of the diner.

He quickly held out his hand and introduced himself to the rabbit and fox before sitting down, "Chester Smith. ZPD Precinct Four Forensics Department. I'm a huge fan of your work!"

Judy giggled and Nick smirked at his last statement as they each thanked him for the compliment and shook his comparably enormous hand. A female capybara on stilts came by and asked if she could take their order, but Vic waved her off and said they were waiting for one more mammal. She chirped an almost too joyful reply and went on to the other tables in the diner. As the capybara left, Chester asked Vic a question that had been itching in his mind since he had arrived, "So, Vic, is Arthur coming?"

The wolverine was staring down at his phone and tapping on it rapidly as he replied nonchalantly, "He said he'd be here."

His mood improved with the news, the gorilla then turned to his heroes. Chester asked question after question about the Night Howler Case and how Nick and Judy pieced everything together. It was quite the story and the duo didn't mind retelling the story to the gorilla since he was so excited and an excellent listener. The two officers took turns telling pieces of the tale, each event they spoke of spurring more questions within Chester, which Nick and Judy gladly answered.

The rabbit and fox had just finished the story and Chester was about to ask yet another question when the door's bell rang for the sixth time since Chester had arrived. Each time he had checked to see if it was finally Arthur arriving and this time was no different, with one exception, Arthur actually was the one walking through the door. Arthur was a gray aardvark dressed completely in the traditional detective's clothes. He had his brown trench-coat and a white dress shirt under the coat, black pants, brown boots, brown fedora, and a large pair of sunglasses. The sunglasses were less for his look and more to protect his eyes from bright light since he was used to the constant darkness of the Nocturnal District. Arthur used to be a detective for the ZPD's Precinct Three, but after transferring to Precinct Eight in the Nocturnal District, had become disillusioned with the ZPD and decided to become a private detective in the district.

* * *

And he was a damn good one too. He had put more criminals away than the rest of Precinct Eight combined and helped countless animals get justice for wrongs done against them. The best part about being a private detective, though, was that he got to chose when and where he worked at all times, which is why he was able to join the group on such short notice. He was excited to see his old friends again. They had been quite the team back in Precinct Three and he hadn't seen any of the group in years. Now he just needed to find out why. It was most likely for some sort of work reasons. He could immediately tell it wasn't because Vic and Lydia were back together since they kept an empty seat between them, probably keeping it open for him. There was also the fact that two mammals were seated who were not part of the original group, not that he was complaining.

Seated at the table were Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. One was the hero bunny who had saved the city from becoming an even bigger mess than it already was. The other was his closest childhood friend, a fox who could get into and out of any dangerous situation and had taught him how to think like a criminal and be able to outsmart them. He couldn't stop the smile forming as he saw Nick and watched the canine's eyes widen.

"Well, Nicky, are you going to say 'hi' or just keep staring at me with your jaw hanging open?", Arthur jested, giving a smirk that was uncannily similar to the fox officer's.

Nick shook his head to clear his thoughts and stood up, "Arthur, is that really you?!"

"Come on, Nicky, I thought you knew everyone in the city?", Arthur said with a chuckle, "Do you know any other Arthur the Aardvarks?"

With a laugh, the fox rushed around the table to and threw his arms around his old friend. They had a short embrace before both found their seats. The capybara returned and asked what they all wanted to drink. Everyone told her water, except Nick and Arthur, who both wanted a coffee. There was an awkward silence after the waitress left. Most of the individuals seated hadn't seen or spoken to each other in years or had just met that day. Luckily, Arthur's confusion towards his old friend joining the ZPD caused him to break the silence.

"So, Nicky, what happened to you?", the aardvark began, "You used to be the biggest troublemaker I ever met. How'd you end up with the ZPD?"

Judy looked up, curious to see how her friend would respond, and found him smiling at her. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but I'll give you the short version. After you moved away, when we were sixteen, I never really changed. Finnick and I kept hustling animals for years and years."

"Wait, wait.", Victor interrupted, "Who's Finnick?"

"An old friend of Arthur and I", Nick stated before continuing the story, "Then one day, we were pulling the usual pawpsicle hustle and Carrots here, who was only a meter maid at the time, managed to figure out our hustle after accidentally helping us pull it off. We had a little word war and then I disappeared into the crowd while she was stuck in wet cement."

The entire group chuckled, save Judy, whose ears were tinted a light pink. At that moment, the capybara waitress returned, rolling a cart carrying the six drinks. She passed them out to each animal and asked if they had decided what they were going to eat. Everyone except Arthur had while they were waiting for the aardvark to arrive and the aardvark waved off his friends, saying that he had already eaten before coming.

They quickly told the waitress their orders, which she wrote down on her notepad before rushing off with the cart back to the kitchen. All eyes at the table went back to the fox, and he gladly kept telling his tale. "Well not long after that, Carrots ended up hustling me into helping her with a case she had been assigned. This case ended up turning into the Night Howler Case. We worked together using her training and my criminal thinking to put Smellwether and three of her goons behind bars. Carrots gave me an application to get into the ZPD academy and I ended up filling it out and got it. I was top of my class and got assigned to Precinct One as her partner. And now here I am, a proud and handsome police officer."

He finished the last statement with a pose, both paws on his hips and staring off into space. This was quickly ended by Judy, who had punched him on the arm and scolded him to stop acting so immature. Arthur looked at the bunny with a greater amount of respect and even a bit of awe.

"So you managed to hustle Nicky here. I didn't think it was possible. Hats off to you, Miss Hopps", he said, taking off his fedora in the process.

Chester re-entered the conversation, "Speaking of things on our heads, what happened to your ear, Judy? If you don't mind me asking."

At first, Judy stayed silent, looking down at the floor. Nick placed a reassuring paw on her shoulder. "Carrots, it's okay. You don't need to talk about it if you aren't ready yet."

"No, Nick, I need to get passed this. I can't do that if I avoid talking about it.", she replied and then spoke to the rest of the group, "I was involved in the shootout in Happy Town yesterday, and I was shot in the ear. It left a hole that will probably be permanent. I have to keep it wrapped up to avoid making the injury any worse."

"Was it your first time facing armed animals?", Lydia asked.

"Yeah, it was. I had hoped I would never even hear a lethal firearm fired other than the my dad's shotgun, not to mention trying to take down criminals shooting at me with them."

Victor finally put away his phone as he also got involved in the discussion, "Sounds like you were lucky you didn't get killed."

Judy returned to having a timid body posture and replied with a soft voice, "I could have died. I wasn't ready for a fight like that."

Victor stayed silent. An expression of pondering coming over his features. Arthur had seen that look before; it meant he was doubting someone or something, or at least questioning them or it. Victor didn't trust that the bunny would be an asset, maybe he didn't trust Nick either, but the aardvark had followed these two a lot more closely than Victor, though. He knew that while Hopps hadn't been the best shot in the academy, she was the top in the class for paw-to-paw combat and in chase drills. And Nick was the best shot and knew Zootopia's underworld the best out of the entire group, no doubts there. Those specialties, along with their knack for solving the toughest problems, made them the key to cracking this case.

Arthur decided it was time to change the subject, "So, Vic, while we're waiting on the grub, how 'bout you explain why you got us all here."

"Oh, perfect! Well this is what we've got on our paws", the wolverine began in an excited tone, "So as you should all know, three major gang related incidents have occurred in rapid succession. The Ice Flow murders of two members of Mr. Big's Family, the murder of a Tusk Gang drug dealer, and the massacre of Haftohn Tower. Now what you may not know is that the scene around the murders at the Ice Flow left evidence that appeared staged, pointing to a the Sahara Gang as the culprit, but there was no motive or opportunity for them to do so. This got me thinking, well what if something bigger is happening? Then, the drug dealer was killed, with the markings of an assassin as the only evidence for who could have committed the crime. I started to look a bit closer and noticed that it looked like someone was trying to pick a fight, but that didn't make sense to me. The city and it's gangs have been at peace for years. Besides the Night Howler incident, there's been no major panic or problems. It wasn't until the massacre that I realized my gut was right. Something bigger was going on. So here we are. With only two days, no leads, no evidence, and nearly no ideas, but tasked with trying to protect and serve this city. And I'll be damned if I don't do just that."

"Nice speech, Snowball, but what do you need from us?", Nick asked with a smirk.

The albino was in shock, "What did you just call me?"

Judy quickly stepped in, "He gives nicknames to people he likes! He's not trying to be derogatory, I promise!"

"Oh. Ok. Well, what I need is people out investigating the crimes and gathering some information about recent crime gang activity. Chester, I want you to get as much info you can about the drug dealer and the Big Family polar bears and how they died. I trust that you'll find more than whoever did the first autopsies. Lydia, I need you to speak with your contacts and find out what you can about the Sahara Gang's and Haftohn's activities. Especially find out how and when Haftohn is going to retaliate to the massacre, not if because we all know that he's going to. Arthur, get down into the Nocturnal District and find out what the shady side of Zootopia knows. Is there a new player or is it an old one who's getting power hungry? Wilde and Hopps, work with Precinct One to figure out what happened at that massacre. We're going to need every little detail we can find to see if it fits into our puzzle. Also, both of you, keep us updated with your contacts. Especially you, Hopps. I've got an old friend in the Rainforest District that might be able to help us and I'll look into the rival drug ring in the Canal District to see if they are our possible culprits. Everybody clear?"

A series of 'Yes, sirs' along with a 'Got it, Snowball' from the fox, which caused Victor's ear to flick in annoyance, worked it's way around the table. The group's conversation then veered to less disturbing and stressing matters as food arrived. This may be the last time for a long while that there would be some peace and calm in their lives, after all.

* * *

 _ **ATLANTIS CASINO, CANAL DISTRICT, 4:00 AM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

Coran was seated at the bar of the casino, a bottle of beer in his claw. He was on his forth of the night...morning...whatever, but he had not yet drowned the emotions that were rising to the surface due to his latest job. He didn't want to work in Zootopia. In fact, if it was up to him, he would have left this forsaken city far behind him. There were just too many painful memories here. Too much loss, too much betrayal, too much...Zootopia. So he had decided he would just leave and never look back. Unfortunately, he had left friends and enemies alike in the city, all of them looking for him. Eventually one found him, and offered him a job. If he accepted, he would be rewarded handsomely. If he refused, he'd be killed or captured. Whether this animal was friend or foe, he had yet to truly uncover. So now all he could do was sit in this casino at the bar and wait until he received a call giving him another assignment.

He finished the last of his bottle and waved to the bartender for another. His claw nearly brushed the metal plate over his right eye, pushing to the front of his mind the most painful memory of all. His closest friend betraying him and leaving him to die. Claws bunching into fists, he breathed in deep before snatching up his fifth bottle and taking a large gulp. He hated his damn past, he hated his damn boss, and he absolutely HATED this damn city! He reached to his bottle to take another large sip when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He checked the ID and hissed at the sight. Why couldn't his boss at least let him self-loathe in peace for one night?

He slammed a fifty dollar bill on the counter and stalked out, making sure not to answer the call until he was out of the building. "What do you want?"

"Nice to speak with you again, Speck," the dark voice said. Oh, how he just wished to strangle that voice! "If you haven't been staying updated with current events, Tusk just assaulted Haftohn Tower. There is no exact death count yet, but the assumptions are at one hundred or more. I'd say that is a plan working perfectly!"

"Yeah, yeah, your evil scheme worked, hooray," Coran said back.

"Oh, don't sound too excited now. We still have much work to do. Do you remember phase two?"

"Yessss," the monitor hissed back, "I'll have it handled by sunrise."

"Good. We don't want our next part of the plan to be asleep before we can get them involved, now do we?", the voice said with a humorless chuckle.

"No, I guess not."

"Perfect! I see you understand. Now get to it."

The call ended abruptly with a click as Coran got into his Furrari and sped off into the night.

* * *

Coran couldn't complain too much. He was already up anyways, so it wasn't as if his sleep was disturbed, just his self-loathing. And if he had to pick a favorite district of this city, well, he would have picked the Canal District, but where he was heading was a close second. The Nocturnal District had always been good to him. Keeping him safe and hidden from prying eyes and under the nose of the law. That was the one thing he could complain about, more memories. They came rushing back as he drove through the tunnel leading him to the underground district. His first kill. The first gang he was hired to work for. His first time chasing down...no...too painful. So he focused on the road, making sure to keep a reasonable speed. He didn't have the time or patience to get pulled over this early in the morning.

He finally exited the tunnel to a district bustling with activity. The Nocturnal District was as large as about half of the entire city above it. It needed to be since it accommodated to all nocturnal animals along with many predators and prey who were disillusioned with the big city. There were no skyscrapers, rather the district built underground buildings. The "ground level" floor at the surface and then each consecutive floor was burrowed down further and further into the earth. Anyone seeing the district for the first time would think it looked like one giant strip mall, but the residents knew how much activity happened beneath the surface. Entire office buildings, corporations, malls, and more buried under the surface with sidewalks along the surface and tunnels built underground for travel. It was truly a marvel of engineering.

More flashbacks came to the lizard's mind. The time he and his friends painted graffiti on the wall of the mall. His first job as a mailboy for one of the big businesses. Going to school and hating most of his teachers. It hadn't been a perfect childhood, but it wasn't horrible either. It was pretty normal, as unsettling as that sounded for Coran. He looked at the sidewalks and saw that they hadn't changed at all. Always packed during the night hours with thousands of animals all heading home or to their "morning shift" jobs. It was nice, but disturbing to see that nothing had changed. He pulled up to a building that looked just like every other, except this one had no markings and had a sign saying 'available for rent' on the front window.

He cut the engine and waited. He knew how this interaction would work. It had always gone the same way, and he had no doubts this time. Sure enough, a white sedan pulled into the parking spot next to him; he couldn't see through the blacked out windows. He waited two minutes, then stepped out of his car and slowly undid the holsters of all six of his revolvers and placed them down on the ground. Only then did a fossa open the passenger door and greet him with a toothy grin.

"Well, Speck, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"I have a special preposition for The Bandit", he replied.

The fossa picked up his revolvers and put them in the trunk of the car as he spoke, "Well, he's a busy animal. You got a good reason to see him?"

"It involves recent events."

The fossa gave him a stare, "Get in the car. I'll take you to him right away."

"With pleasure."

Coran stooped into the sedan that was much too small for an animal his size, but that didn't matter at this point. Phase two was underway.

* * *

 **SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

 **MY YOUNGER BROTHER: Giving myself and all of you the wonderful character of Coran**

 **MY GIRLFRIEND: Helping me with plot and pushing me to keep writing**

 **ALL OF YOU READERS: For not giving up on me and keeping up with this story**

 **THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!**


	9. Chapter 9: New Start

**A/N: Hey, everyone, it is good to be back! I finally crafted up the next chapter for y'all. Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy! I am still on the hunt for OC's and cover art for all you creative and talented readers out there. And if any of you who are following this story didn't know, _Fall_ was featured on Zootopia News Network (ZNN)! I can't thank the staff enough for the opportunity to have my story featured, it's absolutely incredible! Now without further ado, the next chapter of _Fall_!**

 **-Eragon**

 **I do not own Zootopia, that's Disney.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9: NEW START**

 _ **ZPD PRECINCT ONE HEADQUARTERS, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, 1:15 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

Judy and Nick rolled into the parking garage and swiftly made their way to Bogo's office. They had to give him the news about their lunch with Clawson's group as well as get clearance to help investigate Haftohn Tower. Clawhauser waved to them as they rushed to the stairs and they hastily waved back before making the climb up to the water buffalo's office...but not before Nick snuck over and grabbed a donut out of the white box sitting on Clawhauser's desk. Judy was about to knock on the large door when she saw her fox partner still strolling up the stairs out of the corner of her eye, glazed donut in paw.

"Really, Slick? We just ate lunch!", the bunny exclaimed in annoyance, arms crossed and her right foot beginning to thump. The fox quickly scarfed down the rest of the donut and looked at her apologetically while licking the last of the glaze off his paw's digits.

"We never got dessert. And Spots' donuts were just too tempting."

Judy continued to stare daggers at him as she knocked three times on the huge office door. A grunt signaled that they could enter and the pair did so. Bogo was looking through a stack of papers as tall as Judy on his desk, all related to the "Haftohn Massacre". The incident had been called this on ZNN and quickly stuck with the masses. As the fox and bunny entered, however, Bogo focused his attention on them and removed his reading glasses, hoping for any good news or at least a plan. Judy rattled off what each member of the odd group was now working on, which left Bogo with an almost happy expression that the there was work in progress. Judy left out her and Nick's job, wanting to say it at the same time as asking for permission to investigate Haftohn Tower, but Bogo beat her to it.

"So if the rest of the group is getting work done, what're you two doing here? What's your job?" Bogo asked before scowling and putting his hoof to his forehead, "Nevermind, all this reading and paperwork is getting to my head. You never said anything about someone working on Haftohn Tower, so that must be your assignment. Makes sense since it's within Precinct One jurisdiction."

Judy was slightly dumbfounded by the Chief, but then remembered he had been in the ZPD for over two decades, he was bound to pick up some things. She recovered quickly, "Yes, we need clearance to investigate the attack on Haftohn Tower. I know it's an odd request for officers to make, but it is imperative that we try to find a lead to go off of."

"I understand, Hopps, but any officer having clearance to investigate something of this scale isn't just odd, it's never been done. Not to mention for two officers both with under two years of experience."

The bunny's ears drooped and face became downcast. They needed to get into that building, legally, and find something that could point them in a direction to work with. Her mind was scrambling for ideas when the water buffalo began to speak again, "But, something that wouldn't be totally questionable and get you clearance would be to make you both temporary detectives until the case is closed. I'd have to clear it with the higher ups eventually, but I'm sure they'll be fine with it as long as something productive comes out of it. What do you two think of that?"

This was too much for the pair to handle. Temporary detectives. That would give them clearance to any crime scene and evidence related to said crime scene in the city! They wouldn't need to be in uniforms, either. Well, that was really only a big deal to Nick. But they also would be issued actual firearms, not the tranquilizer pistols they had been using, which would be a huge help if they were to be in any more shootouts. And to top it all off, the Chief was smiling! It was a very narrow smile, not even noticeable to the average animal, but any Precinct One officer wouldn't mistake it. It was all too surreal for them.

Bogo lead the two down to the armory on the basement level. An older goat officer was keeping watch over the giant steel door from a desk on the right side of the hallway. Well, he was mostly just peering at his computer and clicking the mouse every once in a while, but he did glance up at the group as they walked towards the door to make sure they were ZPD officers before returning back to the task on his computer. The door was triple reinforced with steel and even some titanium to prevent just anyone from breaking in. The only way to open the door was to slide an ID card down a slot on the right side of the door, which would send a picture of the officer's ID to the computer that the goat officer was working on. After he cleared that the ID matched the officer present, he would unlock a keypad, which the officer would then punch in a four-digit code that changed every week as a safety precaution. As yet another safety measure, only officers of the rank sergeant and above were given access to the armory, any lower ranking officer would have to report to a superior for access.

The Chief swiped his card and punched in the security code and the door slowly slid into its slot and the three animals entered. Tranquilizer weapons, lethal firearms, ammo and darts, Kevlar body armor, and riot gear was scattered all over the giant warehouse sized room. The precinct needed a huge amount of supplies for its armory due to the many and varyingly-sized officers of the ZPD. Bogo led Judy and Nick to a shelving unit where he briefly searched through a couple of boxes before seemingly finding the one he was looking for. He opened the box and grabbed something, putting it in his pocket and returning the box to its spot before continuing to lead the pair through the armory. They reached the lethal firearms section and Bogo slowly turned to his two officers and displayed what he had placed in his pocket. He held two shield shaped badges that stated "ZPD PRECINCT 1: DETECTIVE" in the center along with the ZPD motto around the edge of the shield, "Integrity, Trust, Bravery".

The rabbit and fox stood at attention as their Chief began to speak, "From this moment until the end of your case, Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde, you will be promoted to Detective Hopps and Detective Wilde. Do you promise to fulfill this duty with integrity, trust, and bravery as well as serve the people of Zootopia to the best of your ability, even at possible the costs of your lives?"

"I do!", the newly made detectives stated in unison.

Bogo gave them a nod of approval and handed each of them their badge before gesturing to the lethal arms wall behind him, "Detectives are allowed to carry lethal weaponry with them and I highly recommend it with the case you are on. Choose wisely. This isn't just another tool on your belt. You could possibly hold life and death in your paws, and not just for criminals, but also yourself."

The duo looked at each other before stepping forward to examine the weapons wall. There were sidearms of all sizes and varieties on the wall, some of them larger than Judy. Nick found his choice fairly quickly, being a bit closer to average size than his partner and making it easier to find something he liked. He had picked up a Glock 19 fitted for animals of the "small" size class and it fit his paw perfectly, seeming to meld into an extension of his arm. It had the basic iron-sight scope, which was fine by him since he had always hated actual scopes. There was a small firing range just next to the weapons wall so he decided to fire a clip and see how it he liked the sidearm. In short, he loved it. The recoil was controllable and every shot went exactly where he wanted it to. The gun felt like it was meant for him. He glanced back out to the wall to see Judy still searching for a sidearm.

Judy had seen Nick find his firearm and heard him firing off a clip. She was a bit jealous. There was nearly nothing for her "extra small" size class. And even the weapons in that size class were either too big or too small for her to hold comfortably. She was ready to give up and stick to her tranq pistol when Bogo cleared his throat behind her, making her jump a bit. She glanced back to see him holding a sidearm in his hoof, a Glock 26 also with an iron-sight scope. She reached out a picked it out of his hoof, testing the weight of it. It wasn't perfect, but it definitely felt better than any other firearm she had looked at. She hopped over to the firing range and fired a clip off. Nothing spectacular, but well clustered around the bull's-eye. She walked back over to Bogo, a question on her mind, "Where did you find this one? I looked all over the wall and never saw it."

"When our first rabbit officer started showing a good amount of talent as an officer, I asked for a custom sidearm for a rabbit-sized officer. This is what they sent me. Hope it worked for you since that's all we got."

The rabbit tucked the G26 into the holster where her tranq pistol would normally sit and it fit nearly perfectly. "I think it'll do, Chief. Thank you."

The water buffalo snorted, "Don't mention it. Now, don't you two have a job to do?"

There it was. The Chief was back to his old self. The detective pair saluted Bogo before hurrying out to the vehicle depot. They had lost some precious time at Precinct 1, but it was worth it for the temporary promotion and the clearance they now had on crime scenes. And the buffalo was right, they had a job to do.

* * *

 _ **UNKNOWN LOCATION, RAINFOREST DISTRICT, 2:00 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

Victor walked briskly down a darker alley and turned to a rusted steel door on his right. The door was large enough for even a rhino to go through without having to hunch over. He knocked twice, paused, then knocked three more times before taking two steps back. A slot a couple feet above his head opened, revealing feline eyes. The voice that spoke next had a strong Africatan accent, "Who the hell are you?"

The wolverine met eyes with the ones in the door slot before speaking, "Vic Clawson. Tell your boss I'm here, he'll be happy."

A growl came from the other side of the door before the eye slot slammed shut. A few minutes later, the door swung open towards the albino, a large lion holding it open for Victor. "He will see you now. You know the way?"

Victor nodded and entered. The door slammed back shut and he held his arms out so the lion could pat him down for weapons. He had made sure to leave his sidearm and pocket knife in his car, so they found nothing and he proceeded down the long hallway. A series of turns took him to a door he recognized all too well. It was a door as large as the one outside, but it was a dark oak with silver accents and door handles rather than the rusty steel. On the center of the door was a plaque, which was also silver, that read the name of his closest friend and ally: HARRISON FANGS.

He used the same knock as outside and waited. A voice from within told him to enter and he did so. The room was dimly lit, with only candles lighting the room, and the walls were shabby, made of dull-gray and cracked concrete. The place did have a pleasant smell of a tropical rainforest, but that was due to the scented candles. The only furniture in the room was two elephant sized brown chairs and a large desk made of the same dark oak as the door. Behind the desk was a huge map of Zootopia stretching across the entire back wall and a black computer chair. Seated in said chair and facing away from him pondering over the map was the largest Bengal tiger he had ever met. Easily a height of twelve feet tall and built like a tank, Fangs let loose a chuckle as he heard and smelt Victor enter the room.

His deep voice filled the entire room when he spun around in his chair and spoke, "Vic, to what do I owe the enormous pleasure of your visit!"

The tiger's grin was contagious and the albino couldn't help but smile back at his friend. The crime lord was wearing a basic gray suitcoat over black and white suit. He had never been one to be flashy. "Well, I'm sure you heard about the recent murders as well as the attack on Haftohn Tower."

"Ah, this is a work visit. Understood. I have heard about these. The whole underworld has gone into complete chaos since it has all happened. Now every major crime boss is jockeying for higher spots and some of the smaller gangs are taking advantage of the situation to try and expand. Only Big and I are actually trying to maintain some semblance of order. We all know Haftohn wasn't killed, but the other crime bosses see this attack on him as sign of his weakness and now animals are drawing battle lines everywhere. It's only a matter of time before another explosion of violence. And violence is bad for business. Dead and scared animals don't make us money. I want this to end as much as the ZPD, so what do you need from me?"

This was why they had stayed friends after all these years. They were always there to help each other, even through all their differences. "Well I have a theory that someone purposefully spurred Tusk into attacking Haftohn. There was no motive for Haftohn to murder Tusk's mammal, but if someone were to kill said mammal and lay fake evidence pointing to Haftohn, then it could have pushed Tusk far enough to attack. We believe that the first two murders of Big's polar bears had the same tactic due to the similar style of murder as that of a Sand Gang assassin, but the assassin hasn't been in Zootopia for weeks. Luckily, Big stayed cool enough to not act out violently. Now, moving on to the present, I'm here to see if you would know anyone who would gain from war between Haftohn and Tusk?"

Fangs folded his paws and pondered for a moment before responding, "That won't get you anywhere. There are too many who would gain from their fighting for you to use the list to narrow down suspects. Think, Vic, what else could get you to your suspect?"

Victor had always wished that Fangs would go into the police force with him, he had a sharp mind that would have done wonders as a detective. "We need to track down the assassin, or assassins, and find out who they work for."

A grin showing off all of the tiger's sharp teeth spread across his face, "Bingo. And that is something I can help you with. Here, write this down as an anonymous tip."

The tiger gave him a wink as he handed him a notepad and pen from inside his desk before continuing. "So I heard how the antelope who worked for Tusk died and thought, 'What if Speck is back?', and began placing spies at his old hangouts. It turns out, he is. He's been at Atlantis for a couple weeks now and then one of my animals saw a reptile carrying multiple revolvers at around 4:30 this morning in The Nocturnal District meeting with a fossa and some words were spoken. Speck had a preposition for The Bandit and left with the fossa, returned an hour and a half later, and left in his own vehicle. Two hours later, The Bandit pledged his animals and resources to Tusk. I've never believed in coincidences and I know you never have either. So I would say your best lead is to capture the uncatchable and figure out who he's working for."

"That's easier said than done, old friend."

"I know, but what other options do you have?"

Victor thought. There was nothing else. At least not yet. He turned his attention to the map. "So what should I worry about in the underworld? Besides this war."

The tiger kicked off his desk and rolled his chair to the left side of the map and pointed to the upper region. Canal District. "With Tusk preoccupied and down one of his main drug dealers, the small drug ring in the Marshlands of the Canal District has opened up at full steam. They're claiming they've made a super drug that can change your life. It's drawing in a lot of younger animals that live on the streets. There has been no response yet from the Doctor."

He grabbed a giant pointer sitting against the wall and pointed to the top center of the map, "Woolsworth has opted to stay out of the fighting between Tusk and Haftohn, but is trying to expand into my territory."

He then pointed to the middle left, Savannah Central and middle center, the Downtown area, "Nothing from Haftohn yet. Which means he's recovering and is probably planning some sort of crippling blow against Tusk."

He kicked off the wall to get to the right side of the map. He had always loved the rolling computer chairs. Pointer in paw, he moved to the upper center below the Meadowlands and above Downtown, Rainforest District, and upper right, Tundratown, "Big and I are trying to keep order, but we're struggling. Everyone else is either after more power or defending Haftohn's reign."

He the pointed to the middle right, Sahara Square, and lower right, a bridge from Sahara Square leading to Outback Island, "The Sand Gang and Diablo have both pledged themselves to Haftohn. They'll be the most powerful besides Haftohn if they defeat Tusk."

Finally, he pointed to the lower center and lower left, The Nocturnal District, which had black lines between it and the rest of the map, "As I said earlier, The Bandit has sided with Tusk, but as well as that, he's expanding above ground and recruiting. He and his Bandits may be even larger and more powerful than Big and myself now. If that is true, Haftohn doesn't stand a chance against both of them, not even with help."

Fangs stood and faced Victor, "You haven't got much time. You need go. I've helped where I can, but the rest is up to you and the ZPD. I wish you the best of luck, my friend."

The pair embraced and before long, the albino had walked out the door, notepad in paw. He had finally reached his car when his phone began ringing. He checked the caller ID and saw that it was Chester. "Hello, Detective Clawson here."

"Hey, Vic, I need you to get to Precinct Four as soon as you can. I found a few things."

"What'd you find?"

There was a large pause, "You should probably be here to see for yourself."

"I'm on my way."

With that Victor ended the call and rushed into his car and sped off towards the Precinct Four Headquarters.

* * *

 **GORE/VIOLENCE WARNING:**

 **You can skip this last section of the chapter if you don't like reading anything with intense gore. I've installed this next segment to show just how brutal and violent Tusk and his gang are so you and the characters of the story have a better feel for what is at stake. You can not read this and still have a perfectly fluid story knowing what happened at Haftohn Tower was pretty horrible, this is extra characterization.**

* * *

 _ **HAFTOHN TOWER, DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, 2:30 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

Nick could barely comprehend what he was seeing. The entire first floor of the building was littered with bodies, blood splatters everywhere. The smell of death overtook everything, causing Nick to have to wear plugs in his nostrils. Judy was outside losing her lunch and retching from the sight. The fox had seen some nasty things in his years on the streets, but this was by far the worst. Animals ranging from mice to elephants were strewn everywhere. The bigger animals were covered in bullet holes or knife wounds, or both. Most of the smaller animals hadn't even been shot or stabbed, just trampled to death or stomped on. Some were missing limbs and heads, mostly smaller mammals who had been shot with firearms meant for large mammals. A few of the dead bodies had machine guns next to them, but they were obviously Haftohn's guards based on the suits they wore and the nametags on their chests. As Nick continued walking through the floor, the bodies became fewer, but the deaths much more brutal. Some were beaten to death with hooves. Some gored with tusks and horns. The worst part was, a third of the bodies had already been marked off and taken away by the forensics team and yet there was still this many dead animals. A countless number of forensic scientists and police officers worked away, trying to find anything that could help or explain what happened. Nick walked past a room with the door broken down. There were two scientists marking off bodies, but that's not what caught his attention. Every body in the room was female and naked and had there throats slit. That was when the fox had to find the nearest garbage can and also lose his lunch.

Nick finally recovered from the bout of nausea and felt a small, reassuring paw on his back. He looked down to see a sad smile on his partner's features. "It's okay, Slick, we'll figure out who is behind all this. And when we do, they'll never see the outside of a jail cell for the rest of their lives."

Always encouraging and optimistic. That was his partner. He gave her a weak smile in response before noticing McHorn walking up to them, "Afternoon, detectives. We believe we may have found something on the top floor that could help you."

The pair looked at each other before speaking in unison, "Show us."

* * *

 **SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

 **ALL YOU READERS: Your patience is something I admire!**

 **ZOOTOPIA NEWS NETWORK: For featuring me! O. !**

 **THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!**


	10. Chapter 10: Predator or Prey?

**A/N: Hello, readers! Here's chapter 10 for y'all. Also, I have updated chapter 4 to make Nick a bit more mysterious as how he introduced himself didn't quite leave a good taste in my mouth. So I recommend rereading the section where Nick saves Weaselton as it has been changed. Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy! Still on the hunt for OC's and cover art so send me a PM if you're interested! And without further ado, I give you the next chapter of _Fall_!**

 **-Eragon**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia, it is the property of Disney. I only own my OC's and story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10: PREDATOR OR PREY?**

 _ **DUSK STREET, NOCTURNAL DISTRICT, 3:00 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

"For the last time, no! I am not getting involved in this gang war shit! Have fun getting killed, blue-coat!"

With that, the wolf who was yelling briskly walked out of the alley and down the road. Arthur put his head against the dark brick wall of the building next to him and groaned as yet another of his informants refused to give him any useful information on the fighting gangs and the mystery assassin, or assassins, behind the murders. He was running out of time and options. He looked down at his phone, scrolling through his list of contacts to see if there was any other animal that could help him. As he stared at the device, he wasn't unaware of a small mammal attempting to sneak up behind him.

He slowly moved on paw towards his pocket, where he kept his trusty sidearm. Reaching the pocket without seeming to disturb the mammal behind him, he quickly turned to see a silver-furred teenage chinchilla grinning ear to ear with a pocket knife held to his chest. It probably would have been at his throat had there not been a significant height difference between the two. Even in his predicament, Arthur gave off a relieved chuckle, "And here I was thinking I was going to get mugged or killed. How have you been, little devil?"

"Better than you if I had been a real criminal, Arty. Those were some slow reflexes. You getting old on me?", the chinchilla snipped, a smirk reminding him of a certain fox on her face.

Arthur wasn't about to let her get the last word, "Oh, so theft isn't a 'real crime'?"

Finally, she withdrew the pocket knife, closed it, and hid it within her black jacket. Then, she shrugged as she turned away from the aardvark, "A mammal has to eat. And that can be tough in this district when you're on the streets."

The private detective frowned at her response. This was Olivia Drike, a fourteen-year-old chinchilla who had had a life of hardship since she was just six. The mother had left her and her father for another mammal in a different city just after she had turned six. Just under a year later, her father had shot himself from the grief of that and the loss of his three siblings in a car crash. With no parents, no uncles or aunts, and no grandparents, Olivia had been forced into the foster homes. She had never quite fit in there. Adopting couples never liked her rebellious and angry nature and the heads of said foster homes had given up on her. So, after turning ten, she ran away and never looked back.

She had lived on the streets of the Nocturnal District ever since. Surviving off of scraps and things she stole. Eventually, Olivia stole from one business one too many times and Arthur was put on the case. He caught her quickly, having descriptions and witnesses as well as the street cams picking up where she was staying at the time. When he found her, she was curled in a ball inside a box eating a bag of chips and a protein bar from the gas station she had stolen from. It was heart-breaking for Arthur to see her like this, and as he talked to her, he only felt worse and worse about the situation. He talked to the owners of the station and they agreed to drop charges as long as the goods were paid for. The private detective did just that.

He then listened to more of Olivia's story until he heard a part about her being able to overhear things about the gangs due to her small size and being young. It gave Arthur an idea that he decided was both one of the best and one of the worst decisions he had ever made: he decided to take Olivia under his wing. He taught her about how to analyze situations and disguise herself in order to eavesdrop on unsuspecting animals. He then began paying her when she brought in info, that way she could stop stealing. Or at least, limit it much more. That was about a year ago.

His conscience constantly reminded him he was putting an innocent child in danger, but she enjoyed it and loved the job and was always thanking him for giving her a chance at a new life. As he looked down at the young chinchilla, he couldn't help the pride for her that took over much of his emotions. And he could tell that she was here to help him and make him proud once again.

"Zootopia to Arty, you there?"

The aardvark shook himself from his daydreaming and focused on the mammal in from of him, "Yeah, sorry, what've you got for me, Olivia?"

The smirk returned to her face as she spoke, "Well, I heard you need help figuring out what's going on with this gang blow-up and that all your usual informants have been turning yellow-bellied on you. Sooooo, I decided that I would give my pal, Arty, some tips that no one else is helping him with."

Arthur pulled a small notepad and pencil out of his jacket pocket, "You're a tail saver. What have you heard?"

Her smirk became more confident as she started listing off things she had heard around the district, "You might know some of this, but don't interrupt, I've got a lot of little tidbits of info in this brain of mine. So Tusk attacked Haftohn Tower over some proof by the body of that antelope drug-dealer who got shot up, but no one really knows exactly what the proof was. Everyone is freaking out about some assassin named Speck being back in the city. You can probably make more sense of that than me. I don't think it was Haftohn who had the antelope killed, though. His guys down there all are saying that Haftohn never ordered a hit on anyone in the Tusk Gang, and especially not from some 'super assassin.' What's happening now is Haftohn is preparing for some big strike back against Tusk, I couldn't find out where, though. Sides are already starting to form as well, with The Bandit pledging himself to Tusk's cause. Don't know about the other gangs though. With this assassin, whoever hired him isn't from any of the known gangs or the big Canal District drug-ring. There has been no celebrations in the district like there would have been from a successful hit or from someone playing the two top crime-lords for fools. It's been scary-quiet, actually. It's starting to freak me out. How bad is the surface?"

"It's getting worse by the hour, but it's nothing we can't come back from. I mean, look at the Night Howler case. We survived that, we'll get through this too. Now, if that's all, I want you to find a safe place to hide until this all blows over. If it isn't over within a week or two, get out of the city, I recommend one of the Tri-Burrows. Do you want your cash now?"

The chinchilla blanched at his answer before waving him off, "No, put it into my account. I should be okay on cash for a while."

She started walking away, but quickly turned back around, "Actually, I do have one more thing. If I figured all this out, I'm guessing The Bandit's spies have too, which means that The Bandit is in the paw of whoever's doing this to the city."

With that last statement, she left, running down the alley before leaping onto a fire escape and climbing towards the low rooftops of the district. The idea that The Bandit and whoever was behind the murders were working together genuinely scared him. This could be so much bigger than just a two-gang gang war. This could end up city wide. He needed to work through this with Vic. And to get a coffee. He rubbed his eyes, dark bags obviously beginning to form. Definitely the coffee part.

* * *

 _ **SANDY LANE, SAHARA SQUARE, 3:15 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

Lydia had made steady progress so far. After getting back to her office in the Precinct Two HQ from lunch, she had gotten busy making phone calls to her contacts. She had to carefully chose who she spoke with, as she wanted to burn as few bridges and use up as few favors as possible while also getting what she needed from each animal she called. It was a slow and grueling process, but she had gotten a few useful pieces of information. Such as confirming the alibi of the jackal assassin from the district. He was out of town on a "business trip" with several females to Meowami, Florida.

Along with that, she had been narrowing down potential targets that Haftohn would be after for a revenge attack. After using up a few favors, she had it down to two places and figured out when it would happen. Tonight, and at either one of the drug storehouses or at a weapons storehouse. There had been chatter about Haftohn's plans to "deal a crippling blow to the Tusk Gang's morale." Meaning they had to cut off their recreational activities or their abilities to be violent. The one problem she was having was that she had no idea where any of these storehouses were in Happy Town. She had narrowed down some possibilities based on TG activity and their proximity to certain parts of the district, but there were no certainties.

The ocelot was dressed in casual street clothes of a ZPD blue t-shirt and jeans due to her detective status and "technically" being off duty. She was poring over the map of Happy Town, red marker circling the areas she suspected to possibly be containing a TG storehouse. Blue push pins were placed in spots where a TG related incident had occurred, and the circles were around large clusters of said push pins. There were too many circles for their small group to watch, though, with at least eighteen spread out over Happy Town, so she continued to try to narrow down the circles, unsuccessfully. She had just finished erasing another "x" she had made in pencil over one of the circles when her cell phone began ringing.

Lydia picked it up and gave her usual ZPD greeting, "Hello, this is Detective Tang of ZPD Precinct Two. How can I be of assistance today?"

There was a long pause before a voice that was low and electronically altered was heard through her phone speaker, "Greetings, Detective, I have a something that may be of use to you. There is a certain fox that you know who could possibly help you narrow down all those circles for you. Now, you didn't hear this from me. If you tell anyone about this conversation, I will kill you and everyone you love. Understood?"

She took a deep breath and gulped before responding, "Y-y-yes, I understand."

"Good. Have a nice rest of your day. Try not to get killed."

A dark, but still altered bout of laughter was heard before there was a click and the call was over. Lydia was in shock, but quickly got back control of herself and began researching the only fox she knew, Nick Wilde. There had to be a reason this animal had mentioned him. As she searched the ZPD database, she noticed there was a large gap where nothing about him was reported at all from when he was twelve all the way until he was twenty-eight, a sixteen year gap. No taxes, no traffic infractions or even warnings, in fact, he never even got his license until he was thirty. The only thing she could find that stood out was that his father had disappeared when he was eight and his mother died during his gap, when he would have been twenty-five. The ocelot began pondering, "Hmmm, so Officer Wilde, what secrets are you hiding?"

* * *

 _ **ZPD PRECINCT 4 HEADQUARTERS, RAINFOREST DISTRICT, 3:15 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL, 19th**_

Victor had finally gotten through a minor traffic jam and made it into the Precinct Four HQ. The giant sprinklers had turned on at three o'clock as they did every day, trying to accurately mimic a rainforest environment, and was the reason traffic had gotten backed up so much within the district. This was just one of five two hour rain periods the district experienced daily. Luckily, the wolverine detective always carried clothes for any type of weather he may encounter, which included a rain jacket and rain cap. He had always hated getting his fur wet.

When Precinct Four was started, the buildings, cars, and uniforms had all been made to resemble the look of forest rangers in order to look more friendly and welcoming to the citizens of the Rainforest District as well as reflect their strong protectiveness of the district's rainforest. The building painted to appear like a medium brown wood color, the floors were hardwood rather than carpet or tile, and all the supports were sturdy logs rather than metal beams. The cars and uniforms were both a light tan, and the officers even wore these weird matching hats that seemed overly tall and obnoxious to look at. Chester, fortunately, didn't have to wear the uniforms due to him being in the forensics department, which was where Victor was heading.

This area was the only part of the precinct that didn't match the "look" of the rest of the building. The floors and walls were a stark and bright white, multitudes of various lab equipment and computers scattered on tables and counters, and tables and storage compartments for deceased bodies. Chester was located in this area, staring down at the body of Brock Sting, the antelope drug dealer, and Raymond Snoll, one of Mr. Big's bodyguards. Lost in thought, he never noticed the wolverine enter the forensics department. Victor walked up next to him, trying to see what Chester was so focused on. It was obvious the gorilla was looking at the bullet holes in each body. Victor spoke up suddenly, shocking Chester out of his own thoughts, " So, bud, why'd you call me down here?"

Chester quickly brought himself back to reality and grabbed a notebook sitting behind him with a list of the major pieces of information he needed to talk to his friend about. He had always been a list mammal. "Well, the M.E. and I have been working to figure out bullet speed velocities as well as displacements of the bullets and how the bullets impacted each individual mammal here..."

He paused, seeing Victor's confused expression, and sighed, "We found out how fast the bullets went, how far the gun was from the mammal killed, and what happened when the bullets hit each mammal. The bullets were significantly different, meaning the guns couldn't have been the same in each case. Using other signs, we discovered the gun that killed the polar bears was a Smith and Weasel make, which means it couldn't have been the Jackal since he uses custom weapons according to the system; and the gun, or should I say guns that killed Mr. Sting, here, were revolvers of some sort. Definitely custom as they didn't even resemble anything in our system. Finally, we used each crime scene and the displacements of the bullets to determine the approximate height of our suspect, and each showed the same height range of six-foot to six-foot-six. Um, that's the average height range of water monitors, just in case you were wondering. Also, the bullet hole layout on Mr. Sting perfectly matches that of Speck's previous kills years ago."

The albino quickly pieced together what Chester was trying to get across to him. "You genuinely think he's back, don't you."

Chester only nodded and Victor took a deep breath, "Well, shit. I guess my contact was serious about his info. Is that what you called me down here for?"

"Actually, that was just one of a few things I needed to talk to you about. Follow me." The silverback briskly walked over to his computer station, which was much more complex than most of the forensic scientists and medical examiners who worked for the ZPD. This was due to Chester's amazing hacking skills needing more than one computer to work with and more advanced computers that could keep up with the programs he required for hacking. He sat in his chair in front of his computer and quickly typed in a few codes and clicked his way to footage of some sort.

Victor recognized the building in the camera as Haftohn Tower and gave his friend a quizzical look. "Did you hack into the security footage?"

A sheepish grin danced across the gorilla's features, "Well it would have taken too long to get it from the onsite officers and forensic scientists, so I improvised."

"We'll talk about your hacking addiction later. What'd you find that you needed me to see besides just carnage?"

Chester quickly clicked through a group of cameras, trying to find the views he wanted. Eventually finding the right cams, he began fast-forwarding them to the spots he wanted. The cams showed the two main elevators of the building. A couple clicks later, and Chester had found the time frame of the attack on Haftohn Tower. Next, he stopped as a large group of animals filled up the giant elevators in both cams. He zoomed in on two wolves, one standing in front of each group and turned to the wolverine that was watching his work, "Notice anything about these two?"

Victor took a closer look. The cam on the left showed a gray wolf that was grinning maniacally and holding a machete in his right paw, the cam on the right a white wolf with a blank and serious expression and gripping an automatic rifle in his paws. All of a sudden, it clicked for the detective. "Those are the two wolves that Wilde, Hopps, and those other two officers apprehended, aren't they?"

"It would appear so."

The wolverine's expression quickly became one of extreme anger, "How the hell were they part of the attack?! They were being held at Precinct 9! What the actual hell?!"

Victor began pacing, cursing and muttering angrily. He turned towards the door, seeming to have made up his mind about something. Chester quickly tried to calm him down, gripping his hotheaded friend's shoulders tightly, "Vic, stop. I get why you're mad, I am too, but you need to keep your cool. There's more here. And storming off to confront animals isn't going to change what happened. I need you here to help me piece this together so we can stop something worse from happening. Okay?"

Victor glanced back at the freeze-frames of the two wolves and back to Chester, "Fine. I'll stay for now. But I am going to Chief Collins about this. Nothing you can say will stop me. This...this...whatever this is, is unacceptable." He took a deep breath, finally bringing back his cool and collected expression. "What else do you have for me?"

Chester hurriedly clicked through more cameras, explaining how the two wolves and the mammals they were leading had decimated the top three floors of the building, but also lost many in the assault. He finally got to the cams of Haftohn's penthouse. There were no cams within the master bedroom, but there was one showing the hallway outside, which is the cam that Chester wanted to show Victor. It showed the two wolves charging into the room, only for a Bengal tiger to leap out and kill the lion and wolf still in the hallway before multiple shots killed the tiger. The two wolves returned to the hallway to scan over the tiger while the remaining rhino and wolf went into the room before the four ran for the stairwells, since the paths to the elevators were a bit destroyed and dangerous to travel on from the grenades the two wolves had thrown. Victor watched and Chester tracked their escape through the stairwells and out the back door of the building and into the night.

Chester grabbed a small pile of papers off the counter and handed them to the wolverine, "These are the files of those four mammals who escaped. Since Tusk sent them on the most dangerous mission with the most guards and highest chance of being arrested, I'm assuming they're our best bet as to finding out what is going on and what the point of that attack on the tower was."

"This is helpful, but what about Haftohn? He's the one we need to catch and stop before he retaliates."

"I couldn't tell you. He was never in the building. The records show that he had a meeting scheduled, but I've gone through all the cams. He never entered or exited the building at any point that the cams could see. Which means he has a secret entrance or-"

"-he was never there in the first place", Victor interrupted.

"Precisely."

"This just gets better and better. I'm going back to Precinct One to go through these files. Be at Precinct One by six o'clock. Spread the news. And hopefully Hopps and Wilde find something about that damn tiger."

* * *

 _ **ATLANTIS CASINO, CANAL DISTRICT, 4:00 PM, SATURDAY, APRIL 19th**_

Coran was quite nearly in a panic. He didn't show it at all, as that was just asking for trouble, but he definitely had a strong grip of fear in him. The ZPD were on to him. He couldn't stay at this place anymore, but he wasn't allowed to move until he had orders to move, as his boss's orders. And as much as he feared the ZPD coming after him, he feared his boss's wrath much more. He held a burner cell in his claws, debating whether or not he should call the boss and explain to him the situation, just in case he didn't know. As if the universe was listening to his thoughts, the phone began ringing...and only one animal had the number of his burner cell.

He flipped open the phone, "What do you need boss?"

"Speck, Speck, Speck, how's my favorite reptile?" The voice answered slowly and smugly, betraying that it already knew the answer.

"Well, I think the ZPD are starting to narrow down where I'm hiding out. I already had to ditch my car since it was too easy to track after my last assignment. Where do you want me to go next?"

There was a long pause and Coran could almost feel the evil grin he knew his boss was sporting, "Oh, Speck, this is great news! With the ZPD splitting their focus between you and Haftohn's retaliation attack, they will be blind to the next part of my scheme. I want you to stay put and give the ZPD as much trouble as possible in catching you, but don't leave the casino. I want them to arrest you. It'll keep them occupied until I can break you out and we'll finish what we've started."

"But, sir, I never agreed to be captured-"

"You work for me and agreed to do what I tell you, correct?", the voice turned dark and menacing much too quickly for Coran's liking.

The water monitor was seething, "Yesss, sssir."

"Good. Expect company tonight or tomorrow. Have a nice night, Speck."

A click signaled the call had ended. Coran dropped the phone and crushed it under his boot heel. It didn't matter how he disposed of it now, the boss wanted the ZPD to find him. The reptile stalked up to his room on one of the middle floors, using his key card to open the door and marching straight to the back of the room. He opened a giant wardrobe closet, revealing his military grade jacket, pants, and gloves, as well as his signature silver and red mask. He also looked over his stash of ammo and his six revolvers, grabbing one and beginning to take it apart and clean it inside and out. If he was going down, he was going down in a blazing flame.

 **SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

 **ALL YOU READERS: For being the biggest reason I keep writing this story**

 **ZOOTOPIA NEWS NETWORK: For featuring _Fall_ and for all the wonderful work they do for the Zootopia Community**

 **MY BROTHER: For giving both myself and all of you the fantastic Coran (Speck)!**

 **P.S. I dearly apologize for no Nick and Judy in this chapter. It just didn't fit with the flow of my thinking this time around. They will be in the next chapter, I promise! Don't hate me too much.**


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